Always II: The Secrets of the Serpents Den
by MusicMelis
Summary: After finding out that Snape is his father, Harry gears up for his second year of Hogwarts. But with mysterious things happening and his peers looking at him suspiciously, will Harry finally realize that he is not alone and trust Severus to truly be there for him? Severitus.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: This is the sequel to my first story ****Always****. Hope you enjoy! =)**

**Always II: The Secrets of the Serpents Den**

"Harry, do you have everything?" Severus Snape called out to his son. It was almost time to take him to the Weasley's where he would be spending the night. School started tomorrow and Harry would ride the train with his friends. He had spoken to several of the professors who would also be on the train about keeping an eye on Harry and making sure he was not hassled about the fact that Severus was his dad and his new appearance.

"Yeah, I'll be right out!" Harry called back.

Severus would deliver Harry's things to his dorm so the only thing Harry needed to pack was his overnight bag, as Hedwig was already settled in the owlery. As Severus waited for his son his mind ran through the things he needed to get done before tomorrow. Staff meeting this evening, make sure his classroom is set up, put in an order for more ingredients, try to charm the cauldrons so Longbottom couldn't melt one this year…he stopped his mental list when Harry bounced into the room with his overnight bag over his shoulder.

"I'm ready!" Harry said, excited to spend the night at Ron's house. The only downfall would be seeing Percy who had expressed his displeasure at the fact that Harry was not a Potter but a Snape. He hoped he had changed his mind so that staying there wouldn't be awkward.

Severus seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "If there are any problems, any at all, tell Mr. or Mrs. Weasley to floo me. Even if it is in the middle of the night, all right?"

Harry nodded and couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through him. He knew he should be protesting that his dad was being too overprotective but as he had never had an adult act that way, at least that he could remember, he had to admit he liked it. "I will." He promised.

Severus nodded and together father and son stepped into the floo and a moment later, stepped out into the Weasley's kitchen. Severus kept his hand on his son's shoulder as Harry still tended to stumble out.

"Harry dear, welcome to the burrow!" Mrs. Weasley immediately began fussing over him and taking his bag. "You haven't eaten yet right? I have dinner almost ready."

"It smells wonderful Mrs. Weasley." Harry said as he took in the burrow. One would never question that this was a magical home. Though the kitchen was small there was a warm cozy feeling to it. Harry could see knives cutting food and spoons' stirring in the pots despite the fact Mrs. Weasley wasn't even near the stove at the moment. A clock caught his eye that had nine golden hands with a picture for each Weasley member and instead of hours they pointed to locations such as home, school, and work. The clock also showed if a member of the family was hurt or in danger. It was useless to find out the time but still quite brilliant.

"Would you like to stay for dinner Severus?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she sent Harry's bag up the stairs with a wave of her wand.

"No thank you Molly. I have a staff meeting to attend soon." Severus watched Harry in amusement as his son looked wide eyed around the house. Harry still got amazed at magic as he had not grown up with it and therefore didn't take it for granted. "Harry."

Once Severus had Harry's attention he informed him, "I'm going to take my leave now. Remember what I said, if you need me at anytime-"

"Have Mr. or Mrs. Weasley floo you." Harry finished with a cheeky grin.

Severus rolled his eyes as he hugged his son goodbye. "Mind your manners here, behave yourself, and I will see you tomorrow."

"Okay Dad." Harry nodded.

"Harry will be fine Severus." Mrs. Weasley said with a warm smile. She could tell Severus was nervous about leaving Harry even if it was just for one night as it would be the first time he left him since finding out he was Harry's father.

Severus nodded and with one last look at Harry, he disappeared into the floo.

"Harry dear I hope you like chicken and ham pie." Mrs. Weasley said as she led him to through a hallway to where the stairs were.

"I've never had it before but it sounds really good." Harry said.

"Oi Harry, you're finally here!" Ron hollered from the top of the stairs.

Mrs. Weasley scowled. "Ronald you need not shout we can hear you just fine."

"Sorry Mum." Ron grinned at Harry. "Come on up, I want to show you my room!"

"Go on dear and get settled. You'll be staying in Ron's room." Mrs. Weasley said and then hurried back into the kitchen.

Harry bounded up the stairs, excited to be at a friend's house for the first time. He followed Ron into his room and took in the orange colored walls which were covered with Chudley Cannon's posters.

"The attic is right above us and if you hear any strange noises, don't worry it's just the family ghoul. He's harmless, just loud sometimes." Ron assured Harry.

"Your house is brilliant." Harry told Ron.

Ron shrugged but looked pleased. "It's small but it's home."

Harry smiled and flopped onto the extra cot that had been put into the room. "Have you finished all your summer assignments?"

Ron snorted and put some food into his pet rat, Scabbers, cage. "No. Well, almost. I still need to finish the charms essay since Snape's essay took forever." He paled. "I mean your dad's essay."

Harry picked up a comic that was on Ron's nightstand. "It's okay you can still refer to him as Snape if you want. Just don't let him hear you." He laughed.

"So what did you spend the rest of summer doing?" Ron asked.

"My dad and I went back to our cottage and I got to redo my room there. Dad added to his lab and I hung out by the stream. I also got more flying practice in at Hogwarts so hopefully I'm ready for Quidditch." Harry answered as he continued to flip through the comic book.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Ron asked as he opened a drawer and took out a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. He offered the box to Harry who took one.

"A little." Harry admitted. He popped the jellybean into his mouth and made a face. "Ew, dog food flavor."

Ron snickered and handed him another one. "Try this one."

Harry tentatively popped it into his mouth and smiled. Marmalade, much better. "I just know people are going to be staring at me and talking about me. I was hoping to be able to blend in this year and be normal."

"You're the boy-who-lived. I don't think you can ever be normal." Ron shrugged. "People should get over it. Besides, who would be dumb enough to mess with you when your father is Professor Snape?"

Harry brightened. "That's true. Even his Slytherins probably wouldn't want to risk it. Did you know Malfoy got detention that day he took Neville's remembrall?"

Ron's blue eyes widened. "He did? But I thought Snape never punished his Slytherins!"

"In public, yeah. And he usually doesn't take points from them. But they still get in trouble with him in private." Harry told him. "He says he had to even though he was in his spying role because when they act out it reflects badly on him as their head of house."

"Wicked!" Ron breathed.

"Dinners ready!"

"Coming Mum!" Ron called back. He and Harry hurried down the stairs joined by Fred, George, and Ginny. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were already in the kitchen and the table was filled with delicious looking food.

"Looks great Mum!" Fred said sniffing in the aromas appreciatively.

Mrs. Weasley beamed and made sure everyone was seated. "Where is Percy?"

"Who cares?" George said reaching for a roll.

"Percy!" Mrs. Weasley called. She made sure that everyone took a good amount of food onto their plates.

"Molly is one of the best cooks you will ever meet." Mr. Weasley said to Harry who was seated next to him. He winked at his wife who blushed.

Percy finally entered the room and stopped when he saw how everyone was seated. "You're in my seat." He said stiffly to Harry.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know." Harry started to get up but Mr. Weasley stopped him.

"You are fine where you are Harry especially as you are our guest." Mr. Weasley gave Percy a hard look. "There is a perfectly good seat next to Ginny, take that one."

Percy huffed and sat down, a scowl on his face. Ginny rolled her eyes and ignored him. Percy glared daggers at Harry throughout the meal.

"Make sure you all get a good night's sleep tonight. Remember, the train leaves at eleven." Mrs. Weasley reminded the children as they dug into their pudding.

After dinner, Harry and Ron started to go upstairs to play exploding snap when Percy cornered them. "So _Snape_. Are you going to be resorted into another house? Because you really should be." Percy said in a haughty voice.

"Why would I be resorted? I'm a Gryffindor." Harry said with a roll of his eyes.

Percy shook his head. "I think you should be in a different house. Gryffindor is known as being a house of the light and with you being the son of Snape, well; there is still question to whether he was a true death eater at one point. Even the ministry thought he really was until the Headmaster vouched for him. I looked into it."

"My Dad was never a death eater. He was a spy. Dumbledore asked him to become a death eater so he could try and get information." Harry said impatiently. "You really need to get over this Percy."

Percy sniffed and walked away when suddenly his legs stuck together and he fell over.

"Oops looks like you have a problem Pinhead." Fred snickered. He and George had heard the conversation.

"You really should have learned how to walk properly by now Percy." George said in a mock concerned voice.

"You prats! You'll get in trouble for doing magic!" Percy cried as he pulled himself up using the staircase banister.

"Accidental magic Perce. It happens." Fred grinned.

Percy glared as he went to pull out his wand from his back pocket. "Where is it? Where's my wand?"

The twin's eyes widened innocently. "You really should-"

"Keep a better eye on-"

"Your wand. You wouldn't want-"

"Anything bad to happen to it!"

Percy's pinched face darkened and he hopped into the kitchen to get his parents to undo the spell.

Harry was laughing uncontrollably. "Will you get in trouble?"

Fred shrugged. "It would be worth it. He was warned by Mum and Dad to change his attitude."

"That was brilliant!" Ron said happily. "You two want to play exploding snap with us?"

"Ah we can't little brother. We need to finish some…products we are working on before school starts." George said mysteriously. He grinned at Fred and they hurried up the stairs.

"Products?" Harry asked as he and Ron went up to his room.

"Joke products more likely." Ron said. "They better hope Mum doesn't check their bags before we leave."

Harry spent the evening play exploding snap and chess with Ron (he still lost but at least he put up a better fight than usual) and discussing how well the Gryffindor Quidditch team would play this year. When Harry fell asleep, he was less nervous about the rest of his friends' reactions and more excited at starting a new year at Hogwarts. He never noticed the large eyes that had been watching him.

Harry and Ron fell over as their trolleys crashed into the wall where the barrier should have let them through. Several people stared at them.

"Uh oh." Harry muttered as he and Ron got back up, gathering their belongings.

"What?" Ron asked as he stared at the wall in confusion.

"What do you two think you are doing? Trying to cause trouble?" A security guard walked up to them, eyeing the two boy's suspiciously.

"No sir. We just lost control of our trolleys." Harry answered. He and Ron hurried away from the guard, hoping he wouldn't ask any more questions.

"Harry," Ron said in a worried voice. "If we can't get through the barrier, then my parents probably can't get back. We'll miss the train!"

Harry looked at the barrier perplexed. Why wouldn't it let them through? "I guess we should just wait by the car and hope your parents find a way back. "

Ron perked up. "The car! Brilliant Harry! We can fly the car to Hogwarts!"

Harry stared at him. "What? We couldn't do that!" He hesitated. "Could we?"

"Why not? We need to get to school don't we?" Ron reasoned.

Harry glanced at the light blue Ford Anglia and started to get excited. "Well, it's not like we would be taking the car for a joyride or anything." He said slowly. His dad might be upset but wouldn't he be more upset if Harry didn't arrive with the rest of the students? Besides, a flying car…He grinned at Ron. "Let's do it! After all, it's responsible to get to school on time right?"

Ron laughed and nodded in agreement and they quickly got into the car with Ron driving. "I bet everyone will be impressed with us." Ron said as he flew the car up into the sky.

"Wait Ron, muggles are definitely not used to seeing a car fly." Harry said worriedly.

"Oh right!" Ron flicked a switch and the car became invisible. "Now we just have to find and follow the Hogwarts express."

Harry gazed out the window a little giddily. He couldn't believe they were flying in a car! In the back of his mind a voice was trying to tell him that his dad would not be pleased but he ignored it. This was simply too amazing to pass up and he really did want to be on time for the sorting and feast.

"Where is it? I see the tracks." Ron said as he lowered the car more to try and catch sight of the train. "It couldn't be that far ahead of us."

"Wait, I think I hear it!" Harry said excitedly. He looked eagerly forward but did not see anything but train tracks. With a bad feeling he slowly turned around in his seat and his green eyes widened. "Ron! Pull up! The train is right behind us!"

"What?" Ron cried and quickly shifted gears, pulling the car up just in time. The abrupt move made Harry fall against his door, which opened and he started to fall out. "Ahh!"

"Harry! Hang on!" Ron reached over and helped pull him back in. "Are you okay?"

Harry shut the door, this time locking it as he panted. "Yeah, I'm fine. That was close though."

Ron nodded and steered the car behind the train and they both relaxed as it seemed to be smooth sailing now. "The only thing missing is the trolley with sweets." Ron said wistfully.

Harry laughed. "This way you will be hungrier for the feast." It also saved him from having to face his classmates and their questions for a little while longer. "There's Hogwarts!"

"We made it!" Ron crowed as he began to lower the car. He frowned when the car began to sputter and started swerving. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Ron, stop the car!" Harry could only watch helplessly as the car flew them all around the grounds before crashing into the Whomping Willow. Both boys yelled and shut their eyes, expecting to be crushed. The Ford Anglia sat in the tree and a couple of the branches began swinging, hitting the windows. Suddenly the car fell all the way to the ground and both boys quickly got out of the car. The car seemed to take on a life of its own and threw their belongings out before taking off by itself towards the forbidden forest.

"No, come back!" Ron yelled. He stared after it. "I am so dead." He whispered.

"Actually, we're alive and I think we are pretty lucky to be." Harry said, looking warily at the tree as they moved further away from it.

Harry and Ron grabbed their belongings and hurried to the castle, hoping they hadn't missed too much of the feast.

"What kind of school has a tree like that?" Ron complained as they made their way to the great hall.

"I know it-"Harry stopped when Mr. Filch stepped in front of them. He was grinning and looked like Christmas had come early.

"Oh dear. I know two students who are in trouble and the feast isn't even over yet!" He said gleefully. "Flying a car? You'll probably be expelled for that!"

Harry and Ron looked at each other in horror. They wouldn't be expelled would they? "How did you know about the car?" Harry asked with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Suddenly taking the car didn't seem like such a brilliant idea. It seemed like a stupid one.

"You were seen! By muggles!" Mr. Filch continued on in his gleeful tone. "Best follow me to your head of house. She is waiting for you."

"First I lost the car and now I'm going to be expelled." Ron said sadly. "Perhaps I should have let the Whomping Willow crush me after all."

Harry nodded in agreement. He was nervous about facing Professor McGonagall. He was terrified to face his dad. What had he been thinking? One thing was for sure; this was not a good way to start the new school term. So much for the calm uneventful year he had been hoping for.

**TBC:**

**A/N: I know it seems dumb for Harry to take the car when he has to answer to his Dad now but it was fun to write so I kept it in… plus I needed for Snape and Harry to have that first hurdle of Harry getting in trouble and Harry seeing that Snape wouldn't hate him or reject him even if he was angry.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews and adds they are very encouraging! =) **

"There you are!" Professor McGonagall said sternly when Filch reached her office with Harry and Ron in tow. "Thank you Argus, you may go."

Mr. Filch left, muttering about the good old days when they strung up bad students.

"What do you two have to say for yourselves?" Professor McGonagall demanded. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in? How much worry you have caused?"

"We're sorry." Ron said, hanging his head.

"The barrier wouldn't open." Harry offered. He hadn't seen Professor McGonagall this upset since she had caught him, Hermione and Neville out after curfew last year. "We needed to get to school."

"So you broke several rules to do so?" Professor McGonagall said sarcastically. "None of the other students had trouble getting through the barrier." She looked at them suspiciously. "Are you sure you just didn't want a chance to fly the car gentlemen?"

"We're not lying!" Harry protested. He knew he and Ron had screwed up but he hated the thought that his head of house thought they were lying about it.

Professor McGonagall still didn't look like she believed them yet let that subject drop. "I should take points from both of you. However, since you committed this infraction before you got to school I will not. It would not be fair to your classmates who managed to arrive here in the appropriate manner. So you will each receive a detention and the rest I will leave up to your parents. I sent word to your parents Mr. Weasley, once Mr. Filch told me he had spotted the both of you. They should be here shortly to speak with you."

Ron paled.

"As for you Mr. Snape-"Professor McGonagall was cut off by a knock on the door. She waved her wand to open it and Severus Snape stalked in. His dark, furious eyes were instantly on his son.

"Are you hurt?" Severus demanded to know, his eyes roving over his son to see if there were any injuries.

Harry shook his head. "No sir." He said quietly.

Severus's lips were thin as he regarded his son. "Are you through with them?" He asked stiffly to Professor McGonagall. She nodded.

"I will send instructions for their detention tomorrow." Professor McGonagall said.

Severus inclined his head and held out his hand. "Let's go Harry." His voice was stern and he put his hand gently behind Harry's neck and guided him out of the office.

Once they had reached their quarters, Severus took his hand off of the back of Harry's neck and stood in front of him, his arms crossed across his chest and a stern look on his face. "Explain yourself." He said in a low voice. "Now."

Harry nervously looked up and flinched slightly at the angry look at his dad's face. He had messed up big time. "I-we-it was a mistake." He said lamely.

"That is not an explanation." Severus said, staring hard at his son.

"The barrier wouldn't open." Harry said in a near whisper. He felt horrible. "Ron and I didn't know if his parents could get back through so...so we took the car."

"You took a _flying_ car and not only risked your lives but also risked the exposure of our world to the muggles! You have also risked Arthur Weasley's job, he could get into a lot of trouble as he owns the car." Severus scolded angrily. "Do you have any idea of the worry you put me through tonight? Do you even realize what could have happened to you? Not only by being in that flying car but crashing into the Whomping Willow? How could you do something so reckless?"

Harry looked away, tears filling his eyes at the anger and disappointment he heard in his father's voice. Did his dad hate him now? "I'm sorry." He whispered. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. I just-I'm sorry."

Severus sighed and ran his hand over his face wearily. Even with having Harry here with him he still couldn't relax. When he didn't know where his son was all sorts of frightening scenarios went through his mind. And then hearing about a flying car being seen and realizing what Harry had done, he had been scared out of his mind as well as furious. "You should have _waited _by the car. And if Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't show up what else could you have done?"

Harry wiped his face as he thought. He felt ashamed that he hadn't even thought of anything else to do. Once Ron had mentioned flying the car, he had gotten excited at the thought. It wasn't until he almost fell out and they crashed that he realized how stupid he and Ron had been.

"We could have waited longer for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." Harry admitted. The truth was they hadn't waited that long before panicking.

"How long did you wait?" Severus demanded.

"A few minutes, I guess." Harry mumbled, looking up and then back down at the darkening of his dads eyes. "We started worrying about what we would do and then Ron mentioned taking the car and it sounded like a good idea."

"So you barely waited for them before jumping on the chance to take the flying car." Severus said sarcastically. "You once again put yourself into unnecessary danger! I spoke to you about this did I not? I do not want you rushing into situations without thinking first. You could have been killed tonight Harry!"

Harry flinched again at the truth of that and fresh tears filled his eyes. "I know. I'm so sorry Dad." He looked pleadingly up at his father, desperate for his dad to believe him.

Severus stared into those tear filled eyes and sighed again. His temper was still high and he wanted to get control of it before discussing the repercussions of Harry's little adventure. He didn't want to risk losing control and discipline his son the way his own father had disciplined him. He had promised himself when Harry was born that he would never hurt Harry the way his father had hurt him. "Go get ready for bed and then return here. We will discuss your punishment as I do not think one detention is enough for what you did. Obviously you will be spending the night here and not in your dorm." He nodded towards Harry's room. "Go on."

Harry quickly complied, not wanting to test his dad's temper. This was the first time since finding out he was Snape's son that his dad was really angry at him. It was the first time his dad would be punishing him and he had to admit he was nervous. Visions of the Dursley's filled his mind as he quickly showered and got into his pajamas. He took a deep breath and went out to face the music.

Severus had been pacing the sitting room, trying to get his fear and anger under control. Harry's okay, he kept telling himself. The fear he had experienced when he discovered Harry hadn't been on the train was a fear he had not felt in a long time. He couldn't believe his son had been so foolish. When he thought about what could have happened…

Severus looked up when Harry re-entered the room. He noticed the red eyes from crying and felt his heart constrict. He hated seeing his son upset, even though Harry deserved to be scolded and punished. "Sit down." He said.

Harry sat down on the couch, keeping his head bowed. He was too ashamed to look at his dad. I'm so stupid, he thought miserably.

"Look at me." Severus demanded. As much as he wanted to, he could not make this easy on Harry. It was important that his son _learned_. Once Harry's eyes reluctantly met his own he nodded. That was better. "You did the wrong thing. There is no justification for taking that car." He began. "I believe you when you say that something was wrong with the barrier but as we discussed earlier, you should have thought of other options. _Safer_ options. Merlin, even _driving_ the car back to Mr. Weasley's house would have been better if you really believed Molly and Arthur wouldn't find you. But the truth is that you should have simply waited as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley _did_ manage to get back through the barrier only to find you and their car missing. And though you and Mr. Weasley were worried about getting to school, I am sure the main draw for flying that blasted car was the thrill of it. Am I correct?"

Harry nodded. "Yes sir." He said softly. It was true. He had gotten caught up in the excitement.

Severus nodded. "All right young man, in addition to the detention Professor McGonagall assigned you; you are also grounded for a week. Except for classes and meals you will stay here in our quarters until curfew. There will be no hanging out with your friends and no Quidditch for the week. Lucky for you, you will only miss the first practice. Be lucky that I am not taking you off the team as punishment because the thought certainly occurred to me." Severus said sternly. He had briefly thought about making Harry quit Quidditch for the entire first term but had decided against it. He didn't want to be overly excessive in punishing his son, never mind that people would assume he was doing it to keep Harry from playing against his own house. "You will stay here and only return to the dorm to sleep. If I find out that you stay up goofing off with your friends, then you will sleep here as well. And believe me, I will find out. If you need any books from the library, I will retrieve them for you. Break any of the conditions to your grounding and I will add another week. You will also write me an essay on the dangers of breaking the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. The essay will be due at the end of the week. Am I understood?"

Harry nodded glumly. He hated the thought of being grounded and an essay on top of the homework he would have did not appeal to him but it was a million times better than being starved for a week or locked up like his relatives would do to him. "I understand. I am really sorry." He said again.

Severus stared at him for a moment and then crooked his finger at him. "Come here."

Eyes wide, Harry slowly got up and stood in front of his father. What was he going to do? Give him another punishment? Harry thought worriedly. To his surprise, his dad grabbed him for a tight hug. Harry relaxed and hugged him back.

"I love you Harry. It terrifies me how close I came to losing you tonight." Severus said gruffly, resting one hand on the back of his son's head. "I couldn't bear it if something happened to you. I need you to be more careful."

Harry nodded against his dad's waist. "I will. I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid." Harry whispered, still feeling ashamed. He was startled when his dad pushed him back and held him by his shoulders.

"Never say that again." Severus said firmly. "You are not stupid. You made a foolish decision and did the wrong thing but you are not stupid. You are a child and you will make mistakes. My job is to teach you how you can make better decisions in the future."

Harry felt a lump in his throat. Even though his dad was furious at him he still made sure Harry knew he was loved and even told him not to call himself stupid. "I hate that I disappointed you." He said miserably.

Severus pulled him back into a hug. "Yes, I am disappointed in your decision tonight. However, it changes nothing about how I feel about you. You are my son and I love you and overall am quite proud of you. Even when you make mistakes."

"Do you forgive me?" Harry asked, looking up at his dad.

Severus exhaled his breath. "Yes. I believe you are sorry for what you did and are beginning to realize why it was dangerous. The punishment stands however."

Harry nodded his understanding, feeling a bit better that his dad at least forgave him. "Should I write to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to apologize?" He asked. He felt awful for risking Mr. Weasley job, never mind that they must be as upset as his dad was.

Severus's face softened a bit. "Yes, that would be a very responsible thing to do." He felt proud of his son for thinking of it and told him so. They talked for a little while longer about actions and consequences while Harry had a sandwich with soup before Severus sent him to bed. He sat back on the sofa after Harry was asleep in his bed, finally relaxing. His son was home and safe. He hated punishing the boy, especially the first week of school but it was part of being a parent. And despite the worries and fears he had experienced tonight, he would not change a thing about being Harry's father. He loved the boy more than he thought possible. Severus just hoped he could survive parenthood without his hair turning gray. The last thing he needed was to look like the headmaster, after all.

"Harry!" Hermione said in relief when she saw him approach the table the next morning. She moved over and made room for him. "Are you all right? What were you two thinking?" She scolded also looking at Ron who was across from them, filling his plate with bacon.

"Lay off Hermione, we've been scolded enough." Ron rolled his eyes. He looked at Harry in concern. "How mad was Sna-your dad? Did you get into a lot of trouble?"

"Yeah." Harry stared at his empty plate. He didn't feel much like eating. His dad had not acted mad this morning, though he had reminded Harry of his restrictions and to return to their quarters immediately after his last class. "I'm grounded for a week. Except for classes and meals here, I have to stay in our quarters and no friends can visit. I can sleep in the dorm but can't hang out in the common room or anything. I also have to write an essay."

Hermione nodded approvingly. She shrugged when Harry glared at her. "It's a fair punishment Harry. I saw him last night and he was really worried about you. Plus taking a flying car is extremely dangerous!"

"Merlin, you sound like my mother!" Ron exclaimed. "We get it. It was stupid all right?" He shared a sympathetic look with Harry. "I'm grounded until further notice. Except for classes and meals here I have to stay in the tower and write like a million lines. Mum yelled so loud I thought everyone in Gryffindor tower would hear her."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, probably agree with his punishment as well when an owl flew at them and dropped a red envelope on the table. Ron's eyes widened in horror.

"Uh oh. Looks like Ronnie's got himself a howler!" Fred said loudly, snickering.

"Aww, his first howler. Welcome to the club little brother." George teased.

"I'm so proud Forge!"

"Me too Gred!"

"You better open it Ron, it is worse if you don't." Neville Longbottom said nervously as if it was his own howler. "Trust me."

Ron shut his eyes for a moment and then opened the envelope.

A**nd another thing Ronald Weasley! If you get into anymore trouble at school I will come down there myself and walk you to each of your classes to ensure you are doing what you are supposed to! I expect good reports about you from now on young man! Oh, and congratulations Ginny on getting sorted into Gryffindor.**

The last line was delivered in a gentle tone before the envelope burned itself out. The great hall was silent for a moment before laughter could be heard. Ron looked miserable, his face red with embarrassment.

Harry nervously looked around for a howler sent his direction but there was none. He remembered his father had said he would not need to send him a howler since he could scold him in person but the Weasley's had talked with Ron last night and still sent him a howler. He pushed his empty plate away, glancing at the head table to see his dad staring at him. His dad gave a pointed look at his plate. Harry shook his head and his dad's eyes narrowed. Suddenly little berries that had been in a bowl on the table floated over Harry's plate and began arranging themselves, spelling out words. **Eat now**. A vial of his nutritive potion popped up next to him as well.

Harry sighed and drank the vial, used to the bad taste by now. He reluctantly began filling his plate with eggs and toast. He took another look at his dad and saw him nod in approval.

"Aren't you hungry?" Hermione asked softly. She seemed to feel bad for them after Ron's letter.

"Not really." Harry answered though he did take a bite of egg. His stomach was still in knots. Obviously Mrs. Weasley was still really mad at Ron so wouldn't his dad still be mad at him? He had said he forgave him last night but what if after hearing the howler, he got mad again?

"So Harry," Seamus Finnigan said from across the table. "Is that really you?"

Harry looked up and noticed that a lot of people were staring at him. He had forgotten that this was the first time most of his classmates had seen him since his glamour had faded. "Yes, it's me."

"Wow you do look different." Dean Thomas said warily.

"Professor Snape is really your father?" Lavender Brown whispered. "Are you sure? Maybe it's a trick." She looked hopefully at Harry.

"No, it's not a trick." Harry said in an annoyed voice. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with this. "This is my real appearance, my name is Harry Snape, and the professor is my Dad."

"How awful." Lavender shook her head sadly. "It isn't that you look bad or anything Harry, but to have Snape as your father? You poor thing."

Harry's temper began to rise. "It's not awful that he is my father! It's the best thing that has ever happened to me!"

Further down the table he heard a short laugh. "I told you all!" Percy exclaimed. "He'd rather be a snake!"

"That's not true!" Harry snapped. "I'm happy being a Gryffindor."

"You said yourself you were almost in Slytherin." Percy said hotly. "And since the head of Slytherin is your father…" he trailed off with a shrug.

"Shut it Percy!" Ron threw his older brother a dirty look. The twins, Neville, Ginny, and Hermione were also glaring at him.

Throughout breakfast, Harry could feel stares directed at him and hear whispers.

"So our first class is transfiguration." Hermione said loudly as if to drown out the other students. "After that double charms."

Harry looked over his timetable and saw that he would not have potions until tomorrow. He wondered how that would go especially with the Slytherins. He glanced over his shoulder at their table and though most of them were simply talking to each other as they ate, a few including Malfoy were trading glares between him and his dad. Harry sighed and stood up. "I'm going to head to class early." He said to his friends.

"Harry, you've barely eaten anything." Hermione protested.

"I'm not hungry." Harry answered grabbing his book bag and leaving the great hall, unaware of concerned black eyes following him.

**TBC:**

**A/N: So Percy's bad attitude will continue and will be dealt with later in the story and when he is, I was wondering if he should receive a howler from Mrs. Weasley. What do you guys think?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: I got some suggestions for who should ultimately end up with Riddle's journal so I will be adding that in. Thanks for the great idea and the awesome reviews! Makes me happy! =)**

Classes and lunch were the same as breakfast, Harry was stared at and was talked about among the students. Many of the Gryffindor's commented on his appearance, asking if he really was still Harry. Several slytherins would sneer at him when they past him in the hallways and the rest of the houses looked at him suspiciously. To top it off, Harry got a note from Professor McGonagall that his detention was after dinner with Professor Lockhart. A perfect end to a perfect day, Harry thought sarcastically.

After his last class, Harry gratefully escaped to his own room in his quarters. His dad was not there yet so Harry pulled out his books and began his homework. He was actually grateful to be here, even if it was punishment. No one would stare and talk about him here.

Twenty minutes later Severus found Harry in his room, dutifully doing his homework. He leaned against the doorway. "How was your day?" He asked, though he thought he knew. He had seen how the students had acted at breakfast and lunch. Several of his slytherins had earned themselves detentions for comments he had heard as well as their disrespectful attitude towards him.

"Awful." Harry muttered.

Severus sighed. "We knew this would not be easy." He reminded his son. "The gossip will die down eventually. Has anyone actually said anything to you about being my son?"

"Just if it was true and if I was really Harry." Harry looked up at his dad, his eyes weary and sad. "Percy still has the same attitude as well. Oh, and my detention is after dinner with Lockhart."

Severus scowled. Lockhart, really? He sighed. "You earned the detention. You are lucky you were given only one." He gazed at his son in concern. "You have not eaten much today." He had watched Harry through breakfast and lunch and had had to restrain himself from going down to the Gryffindor table and making Harry eat. He had not wanted to embarrass his son.

"I wasn't really hungry." Harry said, fiddling with his parchment.

Severus frowned. "Is it because of the gossip? Or because of your detention?"

Harry shook his head. "Not really." He chewed on his bottom lip. "Are you still mad at me?" He blurted out.

Severus looked surprised. "Didn't we go over this last night? I told you I forgave you remember?"

"But are you still mad? " Harry pressed. "Mrs. Weasley sent Ron a howler even though she had already lectured and punished him last night. So I thought maybe you were still mad too."

Ahh, Severus thought. He shook his head. "I am not angry any longer. I believe you know what you did was wrong and once your punishment is over we will not talk of it anymore. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are very upset because Ron was already punished for taking the car during the summer. That is likely why Mrs. Weasley sent the howler. She wants to make sure Ron learns his lesson this time."

Harry relaxed. He had forgotten that Ron had already been in trouble for flying the car. It would make sense that his parents were even more upset at him. "Oh."

"Is that why you could not eat? You thought I was still angry?" Severus demanded to know. "Did you think I would send you a howler after all or add more punishments?"

"I wasn't sure." Harry said honestly. "I don't know what having a parent is like you know? I wasn't sure what to expect."

Severus was quiet for a moment, silently berating himself for not reassuring his son this morning that things were fine between them. He had been very angry last night but did not feel that way any longer. He knew his son understood what he did was wrong. "I believe I told you that I would not starve you as punishment. I also meant that you are not to starve yourself as punishment as well."

"I wasn't." Harry frowned. "At least I don't think I was."

"Do you have a lot of homework?" Severus asked, summoning a plate of fruit and biscuits for Harry. The plate landed right next to Harry along with a glass of milk and Harry looked at it in surprise.

After checking that Harry only had a couple of chapters to read, he told him to eat his snack and meet him in the sitting room when he was done with his reading. "What about the essay I still have to write for you?" Harry asked, taking a bite of an apple.

"You may start on that tomorrow." Severus said. Inwardly he was rolling his eyes at himself. Merlin, I am going soft, he thought ruefully. "After you are done with your reading we will play some chess before dinner."

Harry's eyes brightened which made Severus want to smile. He had truly hated seeing Harry looking so miserable all day.

"Thanks Dad." Harry offered him a smile.

Father and son played several games of chess before heading to the great hall for dinner. Before they entered Severus stopped Harry with a hand on his shoulder. "You will eat a decent amount." He told him in mock sternness.

Harry nodded. "Yes sir." He couldn't help but grin.

"If anyone bothers you, you will tell me." Severus continued. "Some of the gossip we will just have to wait out but if anyone bullies or harasses you I want to know about it."

Harry nodded, although it was not like he would go running to his dad for every little problem. He was twelve after all!

Harry and Severus walked into the great hall together and the whispering grew loud. Severus glared at those who dared to stare at them and then gave his son's shoulder a quick squeeze before heading up to the head table.

"You look better than you did earlier Harry." Hermione said, looking at Harry closely.

"Yeah, I had a better afternoon." Harry said as he filled his plate. He looked up at his dad and gestured to his plate with a cheeky grin. His dad rolled his eyes yet looked pleased.

"I was so bored in the tower." Ron complained as he filled his plate with roast beef. "Especially since someone wouldn't play chess or exploding snap with me." He looked pointedly at Hermione.

Hermione huffed. "We had homework to do Ron. Plus you have those lines to write." She reminded him.

Ron groaned. "Blimey, I forgot about those. I'll have to start on them tonight." He looked at Harry. "Were you working on your essay today?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Dad said I could start it tomorrow. I just did my homework and then he and I played some chess."

Ron and Hermione and Neville, who was sitting close enough to overhear, stared at him. "You are grounded but your dad played chess with you?" Ron asked in disbelief. "Professor Snape?"

"Wow." Neville said, looking shocked. It was hard to believe the professor who scared the daylights out of him was so fatherly. And to Harry of all people!

Hermione smiled. "I think that is very nice Harry." She was thrilled that Harry had a father who was looking out for him. Professor Snape must have noticed Harry's dejected mood and wanted to cheer him up.

Ron made a face. "I can't believe I am starting to wish Snape had grounded me instead of my own parents."

Harry laughed. "Well, that was just today. Tomorrow I have to start on my essay. And worst of all, my detention is with Lockhart."

"What's wrong with Professor Lockhart?" Hermione asked, as she like the rest of the female students was completely taken with the handsome professor.

"Um, he's a git?" Ron answered.

Hermione huffed. "He is not. He has led a very interesting life. I'm sure he will teach us a lot."

Ron and Harry snickered. "Then what was the point of that quiz he gave us? The questions were all about his favorite color and hair products!" Harry shook his head. The class had been a waste of time. They had not even opened up their defense books.

"It was the first day! He probably just wanted everyone to relax or something." Hermione insisted with a flush to her face. She glared at her friends as they laughed.

Harry noticed the glare and decided to placate her. "Maybe he will get better." He said even though he didn't believe it. He sighed as he noticed dinner was over. "I guess I'll see how he is for detention. You don't he will give me a quiz on his like and dislikes of robe material do you?"

Ron laughed. "Don't worry mate. No matter what, my detention will be worse. It's with Filch!"

"Ew, good luck." Harry said as he made his way to the defense room offering his dad a wave as well.

"Good evening Mr. Potter!" Professor Lockhart beamed as Harry walked into the classroom.

"Snape." Harry corrected him tiredly. He had done the same think in his class.

"Ah, well Harry that is one of the things I wanted to talk to you about." Professor Lockhart nodded at the chair by his desk and handed Harry a pile of letters. "My fan mail. I need help answering them, I simply have too many!"

Harry inwardly groaned as he started on his pile. He would rather scrub cauldrons.

"Now Harry, as a fellow celebrity I feel the need to give you some advice." Professor Lockhart said as he signed his name with a flourish on the fan mail. "First of all, your name. Harry Potter is known throughout the Wizarding world! Harry Snape is not. You must think of your fans."

Harry opened his mouth to protest that he didn't want any fans but Professor Lockhart simply continued. "As for your stunt with the flying car, well yes it was attention getting but you are still young. You want to start small and build up! Remember this, celebrity is as celebrity does!"

Harry gritted his teeth and concentrated on answering the fan mail. He wanted to snap at the so called professor but figured it would not be worth risking another detention. They worked in mostly silence for the rest of the detention except for when Lockhart would read a letter from one of his fans out loud. Suddenly Harry looked up. "Did you hear that?"

Professor Lockhart barely looked at him. "Hmm?"

"Did you hear that noise? It almost sounded like a voice. Sort of." Harry concentrated harder but the noise had stopped.

Professor Lockhart was looking around nervously. "I don't hear anything." He said. He checked the time and laughed. "Oops, it's time for your curfew. Time sure does fly when you are having fun! Have a good night Mr. Potter!"

"Snape." Harry said shortly and quickly left the room. He shook his head as he walked to the Gryffindor common room. What that man was doing teaching, he did not know. As he walked down the hallway, he noticed water on the floor. He frowned as he walked further and there was a large puddle. He slowly looked up and saw Filch's cat Mrs. Norris hanging by her tail. "Merlin." He breathed. She was stiff as a board. His eyes widened further when he saw writing on the wall. _The Chamber of Secrets has been opened._ _Enemies of the heir beware_.

"What the-"Harry whispered but was interrupted by Mr. Filch walking towards him.

"Ha! Causing more trouble boy? You're supposed to be in your dorm." Mr. Filch sounded very pleased. "Looks like another visit to your head of-"He stopped when he noticed his cat. "Mrs. Norris?" He croaked. He turned on Harry. "What did you do to her? You killed my cat!"

Harry took a step back, his eyes wide with fear at the enraged look on Filch's face. "No, I just found her like this! I didn't hurt her!"

"Liar!" Filch grabbed Harry by his shoulder and began shaking him.

"Argus let Mr. Snape go!" Professor McGonagall had spotted them and was hurrying over. "We do not manhandle students!"

"He killed my cat!" Mr. Filch was sobbing by now.

Harry wrenched himself away, his shoulder throbbing. "I didn't touch her!" He protested, hoping McGonagall believed him.

Professor McGonagall had paled when seeing Mrs. Norris and the message written on the wall. She waved her wand and several mists that were in the shape of cats took off in different directions. "I've sent for the headmaster and other Professors." She said calmly, though her eyes looked worried.

It only took a couple of minutes before the Headmaster, Madame Pomphrey, Professor Flitwick, and his Dad joined them.

"Harry?" Severus immediately went over to his son, his eyes quickly scoping the cat and message. He took a deep breath and looked down at Harry. "What happened? Why are you not in your dorm?"

"Because he killed my cat!" Mr. Filch yelled, glaring hatefully at Harry.

"I did not!" Harry practically yelled back. He was confused about what was going on, worried that no one would believe him, and his shoulder hurt.

"Harry would not hurt Mrs. Norris." Severus said firmly, glaring back at Filch.

"Then what is he doing here?" Filch asked snidely.

"My fault, I'm afraid." Professor Lockhart walked up to them. "Sorry it took me so long. Harry only just left my office where he was serving detention a few minutes ago." He looked sadly at the cat still hanging there. "Such a shame I wasn't here sooner. I know I could have saved her."

"She is not dead Argus." Dumbledore said, finally speaking up. He had been studying the cat. "She is only petrified."

"Just as I thought." Professor Lockhart nodded.

Severus rolled his eyes. "How did this happen?" He directed at Dumbledore as they stared at the wall.

"I do not know." Dumbledore sounded worried. "Did anyone see anything?"

"Ask the boy! He was the only one here! He had to have done it!" Argus insisted.

"No second year student could have done this." Dumbledore said firmly.

Professor McGonagall was glaring at Filch. "And even if you are upset Argus, you have no right to hurt a student!"

"You hurt my son?" The look on Severus's face was frightening and Filch began backing away.

"I thought he had killed my cat." Filch mumbled, hiding behind Dumbledore.

"Where are you hurt?" Severus looked Harry over and noticed he was holding his shoulder. "Let me see."

"Allow me Severus." Poppy waved her wand over Harry and frowned. "It is sprained. Lucky it wasn't dislocated." She shot Filch a disapproving look.

Severus made to lunge at Filch but Dumbledore stopped him. "Severus, I will talk to him. He won't hurt Harry again." He said quietly but firmly. "We need to clean this wall before the other students see and start to panic. I also would like to have a staff meeting in half an hour. I will speak to Professor Sprout about her mandrakes and then Professor Snape can make the potion that will revive Mrs. Norris." He looked at Filch. "Come with me so we can talk Argus." He glanced at Professor Flitwick. "Filius, could you take the cat to Professor Kettleborn?"

"Of course Headmaster." Professor Flitwick gently got down Mrs. Norris and hurried away.

"Severus I can tend to Harry in the infirmary." Poppy offered but Severus shook his head.

"I will take care of him." Severus said and led Harry to their quarters.

"Sit on the sofa." Severus ordered as soon as they had entered. He summoned a healing potion and handed it to Harry. "Drink the whole thing. You will likely feel a little drowsy but as it is time for bed that works in your favor."

Harry drank the potion, grimacing slightly at the taste and handed the vial back to his dad who banished it. "You believe me right? I didn't hurt Mrs. Norris or write that message."

"Calm down Harry, of course I believe you." Severus said, gently feeling Harry's shoulder. "Does it still hurt?"

"No, it feels fine now." Harry said, starting to feel sleepy. "Thank you Dad."

Severus ran a quick diagnostic to make sure the arm was healed. "You do not need to thank me. You deserve to be healed son." He tucked his wand back up his sleeve, satisfied that the arm was healed. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I was leaving Lockhart's office after answering his fan mail…so boring…heard something, a voice? Lockhart didn't hear it…" Harry was mumbling as his eyes began to close. He had already been tired and with the potion he took he was quickly succumbing to sleep. "Walked to the tower, saw…norris…message…Filch yelled at me..shook me."

Severus caught Harry as he slumped over, fast asleep. He carried his son to bed, transfigured his clothes to pajamas and tucked him in. "Goodnight son." He whispered before heading back to the sitting room. He didn't know what to make of what Harry had been saying. He had heard a voice of some sort? He would have to question him further tomorrow. As for being shaken by Filch…Severus's eyes darkened. How dare that man lay a finger on Harry? Albus may talk to Filch about his behavior but so would Severus. He would make sure Filch never even thought about hurting Harry or any other student again.

Severus quickly cast a tempus and saw that he needed to get to the staff meeting. He called for a house-elf.

"How is Roxie be helping Professor Snape?" An earnest looking house-elf immediately popped in and asked.

"My son Harry is asleep and I need to go to a staff meeting. Would you please stay here and if he wakes up tell him where I am? Also if he needs me, let me know right away." Severus said.

"Of course Professor Snape! Roxie will be happy to do so!" Roxie beamed.

"Thank you. I shouldn't be long." Severus said and left for the meeting.

"Until we know what we are dealing with, I want a new rule put temporarily in place that students are not to walk the halls alone. I would like you professors as well as the prefects to escort them to their classes." Dumbledore told his staff, his face grave.

"What do you think is going on Albus?" Minerva asked worriedly.

Dumbledore sighed. "I do not yet know. I am hoping this is a prank to scare the students and that the chamber has not been opened, if it indeed does exist."

"The castle has been searched many times in the past and no such chamber has been found correct?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"No, no evidence of it has been found." Dumbledore said though his eyes remained concerned.

"What about Mrs. Norris? Who could have done such a thing to her?" Poppy asked. "Will she be able to recover?"

"Yes, Professor Sprout has fresh mandrakes that will be ready soon and Severus, I will need you to make the mandrake restorative draught potion."

"I could make it for you Headmaster." Lockhart volunteered. "It would be quite easy for me, I assure you."

"I believe only one of us is the potion's master at this school." Severus interjected with a glower in Lockhart's direction. He turned his attention to Dumbledore. "I would like to know what is being done with Mr. Filch." His tone was like ice.

"I would too; he was completely out of line." Minerva agreed.

"What happened?" Professor Sprout asked.

"He shook Mr. Snape's arm and sprained his shoulder." Poppy answered. "Severus, is he all right?"

"Yes, I gave him a healing potion with a little dreamless sleep in it. A house elf is keeping an eye on him for me." Severus said, still staring at the headmaster.

"I have spoken to Argus that no matter what, he is not to physically hurt a student ever again." Dumbledore said seriously. "I also told him that he is to steer clear from Harry from now on. On that note if Harry should receive detention from any of you it is not to be with Argus."

Severus nodded though he was still upset that Filch was still being allowed to stay at Hogwarts. "And if Filch does not obey these new stipulations?"

Dumbledore sighed a little. "I told him he would have to leave the school, which upset him tremendously. He considers Hogwarts his home."

"I don't care! The student's safety is more important than his feelings." Severus huffed.

"He is aware of the conditions." Dumbledore said. He cast a tempus. "It is late. Thank you for coming and have a good sleep. And remember to keep your eyes and ears open."

Severus considered staying and mentioning that Harry may have heard something before the attack. But since Harry had been under the influence of the potion he had given him, Severus decided to wait. He would question Harry in the morning.

Severus returned to his quarters and thanked Roxie, who told him that Harry was still asleep and had not woken up. He quietly went to Harry's room and watched his son for a moment, who was breathing steadily in his sleep. Trouble did indeed seem to find his son. Even though he knew Minerva would instruct her Gryffindor about not being alone as he would his Slytherins he would also talk to Harry about the new rule. If there was a chamber somewhere in the castle, he did not want Harry mixed up in it.

**TBC:**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

When Harry woke up he was confused for a second as to why he was not in his dorm. Then last night's events rushed through his mind. Lockhart's detention, the odd voice, the strange message, Filch…Harry moved his shoulder and it felt fine. He got up and got dressed, heading out to find his dad. He was hoping to get some questions answered.

"Dad?" Harry poked his head into the study where Severus was at his desk marking papers.

"Good morning Harry. How is your arm?" Severus asked, putting his quill down.

"It feels fine." Harry said, taking a seat in front of his dad's desk. "Dad, what happened last night? What was that message and what happened to Mrs. Norris?"

Severus hesitated as how much to tell his son. "Mrs. Norris was petrified. Petrification is a form of paralyses and the victim feels much like stone. They are not dead however and can be revived with a special draught which Professor Sprout and I will work on."

Harry nodded slowly. "Okay, but what about the chamber? What is it?"

"A myth and more than likely a cruel joke." Severus said, not wanting to get into the monster that supposedly lived somewhere in the school. Harry didn't need to worry about that especially as the school had been checked more than once. "However, someone is clearly up to no good and wants to start mayhem in the school so you must be on guard. Students will not be allowed alone in the halls you will be escorted by teachers and prefects. I expect you to obey this understand?"

"Yes sir." Harry said with a nod though he still wanted to know more about the chamber. "But what is the chamber exactly? And what is the heir of-"

"Harry." Severus said firmly. "I have told you all you need to know for now. This is not something for you and your friends to investigate; it is for the teachers to look into. All you need to do is go to class and obey the rules. Am I clear?"

"Yes Dad." Harry sighed. He was itching to know more though. Something was clearly going on, more than what his dad was telling him.

"Last night you mentioned hearing a voice." Severus said suddenly. "Did you recognize it?"

"No. I'm not even sure if it was a voice. It was weird. Lockhart said he didn't hear anything." Harry said his mind mulling it over. Maybe Lockhart was lying? What if he was behind what happened? He was late when Dumbledore summoned the Professors, but then again he had defended Harry against Filch's allegations.

Severus drummed his fingers against his desk for a moment. "That is odd. If you hear it again I want you to tell me." He cast a tempus. "It is time for us to go to breakfast. Remember after your classes to start on your essay after you finish your homework."

Harry made a face though he knew the punishment was deserved. He followed his dad to the great hall eager to tell his friends what had happened.

HPHPHPHP

"So that is why Professor McGonagall lectured us about safety and not being alone." Hermione said thoughtfully over breakfast. "I wonder if there would be any information in the library about the chamber." Her eyes lit up at the thought of doing research.

"Yeah, you should check that out. Too bad we are grounded huh Harry?" Ron snickered as he put a pile of hash browns on his plate.

Hermione rolled her eyes and took out a notebook to write down what Harry had told them. "I don't mind researching alone. Besides Ron, you would probably just fall asleep in the library snoring and get us yelled at like last year."

Harry laughed as he took a big gulp of pumpkin juice. He noticed that most of the Gryffindor's were still staring and whispering, some even had scooted down away from him as far as they could. Harry frowned. What was it to them that he was a Snape instead of a Potter? He was still just Harry! He glared at those staring and they quickly looked away. He noticed Percy smirking slightly and he simply rolled his eyes at him. Thankfully he still had the support of the twins, Neville and Ginny. Harry looked at her in concern, she looked tired and sad.

"Hey Ron, is Ginny okay?" Harry asked.

"I think so, why?" Ron asked with a glance in Ginny's direction. He frowned slightly.

"She looks upset." Hermione said as she took in Ginny's appearance. "And exhausted."

"Maybe she is homesick." Harry suggested.

"Oh, maybe." Ron nodded.

"You should talk to her." Hermione advised, taking a bite of fruit.

Ron looked at her in surprise. "Me? Why me?"

"You're her brother." Hermione said.

"So are George and Fred and Percy." Ron shrugged. "I don't know what to say to her."

Hermione huffed. "A little compassion Ronald. Never mind. I'll talk to her later in our common room."

Ron looked relieved. "Thanks Hermione."

Harry turned his attention back to what had happened last night. "I was thinking maybe Lockhart has something to do with it."

"Why in the world would you think that?" Hermione asked impatiently. "He doesn't seem the type to hurt anyone, or any animal."

"Yeah? Quirrell didn't seem the type either." Harry shot back and Hermione nodded slowly, looking resigned to the idea. "He claimed not to have heard what I did plus he was late when Dumbledore summoned the professors."

Ron nodded eagerly. "Yeah maybe his celebrity status is a front and he really is some evil mastermind!"

"Harry, you said he stuck up for you when Filch accused you of hurting Mrs. Norris." Hermione pointed out triumphantly.

"He did but it could be a way to look like the good guy or something." Harry argued. After last year, he didn't want to take chances in believing a professor to be harmless like he had with Quirrell.

"I highly doubt it is Professor Lockhart, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would have checked him out thoroughly to make sure he wasn't in league with you-know-who." Hermione pointed out.

Harry hunched his shoulders. That was true. Even though Lockhart wasn't a competent teacher, he was sure Dumbledore, and his dad as well, would have made sure he wasn't on Voldemort's side.

"You're probably right. Will you let me know if you find anything in the library?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded happily. "I will. I'll start with Hogwarts, a History. Something should be in there about it."

Harry had thought it was just the three of them who knew about the message written on the wall but as he finished his breakfast he heard murmurings of Mrs. Norris and the heir of Slytherin. He looked at his friends in confusion. "How did everyone find out?"

"No idea. Hey Neville!" Ron called and Neville scooted towards them. "People are talking about the message written on a wall. Know anything about it?"

"Two seventh year Ravenclaw's saw it as Filch was cleaning the wall. Everyone is speculating what it could mean." Neville told them.

"This could be a good thing. Maybe some of the students have heard about the chamber before." Hermione suggested.

Neville leaned in closer. "Apparently, the chamber exists and has been opened before. And-and a student _died_." He half whispered.

Harry exchanged shocked looks with Ron and Hermione. Why hadn't his dad told him this? "When did this happen?" He asked.

Neville shrugged. "I think someone said it was like fifty years ago."

Hermione copied the information down into her notebook. "If it's true then there has to be something in the history books about it. I'm going to go to the library now before class. See you two later!" She hopped up and hurried out of the great hall.

Ron continued stuffing his face with bacon while Harry sat back in his seat. He really wished he wasn't grounded so he could go to the library with Hermione and help research. His dad had said it was probably just someone who wanted to cause trouble in the school that had written that message and petrified Mrs. Norris but what if he was wrong? What if something bigger was happening? After all, Dobby had warned him that bad things were going to happen at Hogwarts. I should remind my dad about that, Harry thought.

HPHPHPHP

The week passed with no more strange occurrences and Harry and Ron's grounding was finally over. Harry had reminded his dad about the warning from Dobby and his dad had said he and Dumbledore were keeping that in mind and keeping their eyes and ears open. When Harry had tried to get more information on the student that had died, his dad had told him that it was not for him to worry about it and to let the adults do the worrying. Harry had sighed but let the matter drop. Today Harry was able to practice Quidditch with his team and his friends came with him to watch.

"We missed you at the first practice Harry. Try not to get into any more trouble." Oliver Wood grinned clearly happy to have his star seeker back. He was one of the Gryffindor's that wasn't treating Harry any differently.

"I'll do my best." Harry quipped. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the Slytherin Quidditch team coming towards them.

"What are you guys doing here? We have this field booked for our practice." Oliver stated, glaring at Marcus Flint.

Marcus Flint sneered back. "We are just waiting for our turn. We have a new seeker to train. Why? Does it make you nervous practicing in front of us? I would hope we aren't that intimidating." He smirked.

"Hardly." Oliver scoffed. "Of course, after losing so much last year I can see why you would want to try and get some pointers from us." The Gryffindor's laughed behind him, causing the Slytherin's to glare at them.

"So who is your new seeker?" Oliver asked with some interest.

"That would be me." Draco Malfoy said smugly, stepping up. He gestured to the new brooms his team each held. "And the brooms are a gift from my father. This year, victory will be ours!"

Harry rolled his eyes and coughed back a laugh.

"Well, well if it isn't Potter. Oh wait. It's Snape now isn't it?" Draco Malfoy sneered at Harry.

"You have a problem with that Malfoy?" Harry asked, aware that everyone had their eyes on them.

"No problem at all. Except that Snape is a filthy traitor!" Draco spat hatefully.

"Don't you dare talk about my dad like that!" Harry held out his wand, pointing it straight at Malfoy.

"Harry!" Hermione hissed.

"This year he is your dad but last year he hated you!" Draco taunted. "It was obvious to everyone that he couldn't stand you!"

"Harry, put your wand away." Hermione said, looking over Harry's shoulder.

"Yes, listen to the little mudblood would you?" Draco laughed.

"How dare you!" Ron yelled, taking a step towards Draco.

"Well, she is." Draco shrugged though his silver eyes gleamed. "And with rumors that the Chamber of Secrets is open, she will probably be the next attacked! The Heir of Slytherin supposedly hates mudbloods and wants to get rid of them."

"Shut your mouth Malfoy!" Harry warned. Draco turned his attention back to Harry and grinned cruelly.

"Professor Snape probably still hates you." Draco goaded. "Maybe he is just waiting for the right moment to be rid of you!"

"That will be enough Mr. Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall had walked over when she saw the crowd forming. "How dare you say such things? And to use that fowl word! Professor Snape will be hearing about this. Thirty points from Slytherin!"

Draco gaped at her. "Thirty points? That's not fair!"

"I think it is more than fair." Professor McGonagall said sternly. "Detention as well. As for you Mr. Snape, even though you were being provoked you shouldn't have taken your wand out like that. You are lucky that you did not hex him. Next time walk away and get an adult. Five points from Gryffindor."

The Gryffindor's began complaining that that wasn't fair but McGonagall ignored them as she marched Draco up to the castle.

"I can't believe she took points from you just for pointing your wand at the prat!" Ron said angrily.

"Dueling or hexing students is forbidden and pulling your wand on someone shows intent." Hermione reasoned. "At least it wasn't thirty, like Malfoy."

Harry shrugged. He didn't really care about the points, he could only think of what Draco had been saying. He hated being reminded of how his dad had treated him before. It seemed like a different lifetime as he knew his dad loved him and could never hate him. He also was concerned that Draco had said Hermione could be a target.

"I can't believe Malfoy is a seeker." Ron complained as the trio made their way back to the castle.

"I can't believe he bought his way onto the team so easily." Hermione said, clearly upset.

"What was that word he called you?" Harry asked.

"It's a foul name. It means dirty blood for someone who is muggle born." Ron said, glancing at Hermione. "You should have hexed him good Harry. Or I should have."

"That would have just made things worse." Hermione said, though she was touched at his concern.

"Harry."

Harry turned and saw his dad standing by the stairs, a serious expression on his face. He motioned for Harry to follow him. He looked over at Hermione. "Ms. Granger I apologize for the word that was used on you today. I hope you do not let it upset you too much, as being a pureblood or muggle born has nothing to do with how clever and powerful a witch you will undoubtedly one day be."

Hermione's eyes widened at the compliment. "Thank you sir." She whispered.

Ron stared after Harry and his dad as they walked away. "Can you believe Snape said something so nice to you?"

Hermione shook her head. "Wonders never cease."

HPHPHPHP

"Professor McGonagall told me what happened. Are you all right?" Severus asked in concern after they had entered their quarters.

Harry dropped onto the couch. "Yeah. Malfoy was just being a bloody git as usual."

"Language." Severus said though there was no anger in his voice. He was furious at the Malfoy brat for saying such things to Harry as well as that dreadful word to Ms. Granger. That word had almost cost him Lily in his fifth year.

"I lost Gryffindor five points." Harry mumbled. "I didn't even hex him."

"Were you going to?" Severus asked.

Harry hesitated. The truth was…"Probably." He admitted. "Or I might have slugged him."

"And you would have been in trouble if you had." Severus said. "However, pulling your wand on him for whatever reason will get you in trouble as Hogwarts has strict rules about dueling each other."

"So I get in trouble for defending myself?" Harry sputtered.

"You didn't really get in trouble, the five points was just a warning to you and the other students. If Draco had started to hex you or hit you, then defending yourself would have been justified." Severus said, remembering what it was like to be bullied. He knew it didn't seem fair. He had lectured Draco quite soundly and had assigned him a thousand lines as well as an additional detention scrubbing floors. He had also warned the spoiled boy that if he ever acted like that again he would take him off the Quidditch team.

Harry sulked. "Whatever. He also said that Hermione could be attacked next by the heir of Slytherin. That the heir wants to get rid of muggle borns. Is that true?"

Severus sighed. He wished those Ravenclaws hadn't seen what they did as speculations were now running rapid throughout the school. "Yes." Severus admitted. "The story goes that Salazar Slytherin only wanted purebloods in Hogwarts and kept some sort of monster in a secret chamber that would target those who were not. But it is just a story, no chamber or monster has ever been found."

"Oh." Harry said.

"Harry, what Draco said…you do not believe it do you?" Severus asked softly. It hurt to know that how he had treated Harry in the past could still be used to hurt his son.

Harry shook his head, understanding what his dad meant. "No, I don't. But hearing him say made me mad."

"Yes, I am not too happy myself." Severus agreed. "You do know I regret the past school year right?"

Harry looked at him in surprise. "Of course I do." He gave his dad a rueful smile. "I just don't like being reminded of it."

Severus sighed. "Me either." He put his arm around his son and Harry leaned into his side. They sat there on the sofa for awhile, each of them thinking about how far they had come since finding out they were father and son.

**TBC:**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! They make me happy! =)**

**HPHPHPHP**

Harry reached out his hand as he got nearer to the snitch. He forgot to be on alert for that bludger that seemed to have a mind of its own and a moment later felt it slam into his left arm. He winced in pain yet kept reaching out with his right hand for the snitch. He was speeding towards the ground in his pursuit and once he felt his hand cover the snitch, he pulled his broom up abruptly. The sudden movement caused him to lose his balance as his arm was in such pain and he fell to the ground, maintaining his hold on the snitch. He heard Lee Jordon announce Gryffindor's win and managed a weak smile.

He looked up when he saw the bludger coming for him again and quickly moved out of the way. "Finite Incantatem!" He heard Hermione call out and the bludger exploded.

"Thanks Hermione." Harry said, wincing again. He saw Ron and Hagrid standing with him as well. "I think my arm is broken."

"I can fix that for you Harry." Lockhart said taking out his wand.

Harry's eyes widened. "Uh, no thanks. I still have one good arm so it's okay."

"Nonsense." Lockhart laughed. "Poor boy is in shock, doesn't realize what he is saying. This won't hurt a bit! Brackium Emendo!"

Well, the pain certainly went away. Along with his bones! Harry looked in horror at his arm which now looked like a rubber arm. He could bend it all the way backwards!

"Harry! Move out of my way!" Severus finally made it to his son. He stared at Harry's arm. "What happened?"

"I, uh, fixed his arm for him." Lockhart said, sounding a bit nervous.

Severus shot him a dark look. "Fixed it? You removed all the bones!"

"The important thing is, his arm is no longer broken!" Lockhart said cheerfully, though he started backing away.

"You moron!" Severus scooped up Harry in his arms. "I'm getting you to Madame Pomfrey you will need Skele-Gro now." He shot Lockhart a look as he walked past. "I'll deal with you later." He promised in a low voice and was pleased to see Lockhart blanch.

Poppy noticed them walk in and clucked her tongue. "What happened now? I have told Professor Dumbledore that Quidditch is too dangerous!" She stopped when she saw Harry's arm. "What in the world happened?"

"Lockhart fixed my broken arm." Harry joked, hoping the angry look on his father's face would fade.

"That man." Pomfrey grumbled as she went to her cabinet to pull out a vial. "Growing back bones is painful business. You are in for a uncomfortable night Mr. Snape."

Harry's face fell. "Okay." He said resignedly.

"Of course, I will check on you through the night while you are here." Poppy continued as she measured out a spoonful of potion.

Severus cleared his throat. "Harry will be in our quarters and I am quite capable to keep an eye on my son and administering his doses."

Poppy clucked her tongue as she gave Harry his first dose. When he sputtered at the taste she huffed. "It's certainly not going to taste like pumpkin juice young man."

"I will take him now." Severus said firmly, helping Harry to get up.

"Very well, he will need another dose in-"

"Two hours, yes I know. I do believe I am the one who _made_ the Skele-Gro." Severus said sarcastically, ignoring Poppy's glare as he guided Harry out of the infirmary.

"Thanks Dad, I really didn't want to stay in there all night." Harry said once they were back in their quarters and Harry was being tucked into his bed. He was much happier being in his own room than stuck in the infirmary.

"I don't blame you." Severus smirked. "When I give you your second dose I will also give you something to help you sleep so that you don't feel any discomfort."

"Thank you." Harry said, shifting about as his arm began to tingle. "What was with that bludger? It would not leave me alone!"

"I do not know but I will be looking into it." Severus said seriously. He had been terrified when the bludger kept going after his son. When Harry had fallen, he had immediately headed down the stands to him but had had to push through all the students who were gathering around him and by the time he had gotten there, that idiot Lockhart had already performed the spell.

"Beside the bludger, some of your flying moves nearly gave me a heart attack." Severus said, piercing his son with his dark eyes. "Especially that last move where you hurtled yourself to the ground. I almost cast a Arresto Momento on you."

"It's Quidditch! You have to do what it takes to catch the snitch." Harry said in his defense though he lowered his eyes a bit. He knew he wasn't supposed to do dangerous stunts.

"Hmm." Severus said. "I do not think it is worth risking your life for a game." Although he knew Minerva would disagree as she was extremely competitive.

"Sorry." Harry offered trying to gage if his father was mad at him.

Severus stared at him for a moment. "You flew incredibly well, all things considered." He said, smiling a bit when Harry's eyes brightened.

"You aren't mad that we won? I thought since we were playing Slytherin…" Harry trailed off and shrugged his good arm.

"Of course I support my house." Severus said carefully. "But that does not change the fact that I am proud of how good of a seeker you are and am very happy for your win."

Harry grinned. "Thanks Dad."

**HPHPHPHP**

"Did you hear about the dueling club?" Ron asked.

"No." Hermione said.

"Lockhart thinks we should have a dueling club since all these strange things are happening." Ron sounded almost gleeful. "He is going to have Professor Snape assist him!"

"My Dad is assisting Lockhart?" Harry gave a slow grin at the thought. He had a feeling that his dad was going to get payback for the vanishing of bones. "Brilliant!" Looking at Ron he could tell his friend was thinking the same thing.

"It will be wonderful for us to learn more defense." Hermione nodded in approval.

Ron rolled his eyes. "It will be wonderful for us to learn defense this year period."

Harry laughed.

**HPHPHPHP**

"Welcome students, welcome!" Lockhart beamed as he saw the crowd of students surrounding him. "You are here today to learn how to properly duel. I will be teaching you how of course and Professor Snape has kindly agreed to be my assistant."

Severus glared at the fraud that was Lockhart as he stepped up onto the stage. Assistant indeed, he thought darkly. He had only agreed so that he could seek retribution for his son's arm.

"Let us see how you do with disarming each other shall we? Pair up!" Lockhart instructed. "Remember, disarm only!"

Severus waited for the chaos that was undoubtedly going to happen and when it did, Lockhart just stood there looking confused as what to do. Severus sighed and stopped the so called dueling. "Perhaps showing them what to do would be prudent."

"Of course you are right Professor Snape. I'll go easy on you, don't you worry." Lockhart said confidently. "I have had to do this countless times in my adventures. Have you read my books?"

"No." Severus replied, his voice darker than ever.

The students were watching with wide eyes. If Professor Snape had looked at any of them the way he was looking at Lockhart they would go running and screaming for their lives.

Lockhart and Professor Snape stood in front of each other and while Lockhart did the correct bow, Severus merely gave a slight nod before stalking away to his side of the stage.

"Ready?" Lockhart called. He made to move forward and incant a spell but Severus was much quicker.

"Expelliarmus!" Severus's spell was so strong that Lockhart flew the air and landed with a thump.

Lockhart got up shakily. "Um, very good Professor. I'm glad we agreed to that show so the students could see what happens if you are not prepared."

Severus's face turned murderous at the blatant lie.

"Now, why don't we have two students try their hand at it?" Lockhart said, hoping to get the attention off of him. "How about…" He looked around. "Malfoy and Potter? I mean Snape." He corrected himself quickly with a fearful look at Severus.

"Bet you're scared aren't you Snape?" Draco said hotly as they face each other.

"You wish." Harry said with a glare. He turned and stalked to his end of the stage much like his father had.

Before Harry could try out the hex his father had used, Draco stepped forward and yelled, "Serpensortia!"

A huge snake sprung from his wand and landed in front of Harry. Harry took a step back in surprise as several students shrieked.

"I can get rid of that. Alarte Ascendare!" Lockhart waved his wand and the snake shot up into the air and fell back to the ground, only now very angry. It began moving towards one of the students. Justin Finch-Fletchley's eyes widened in horror and Harry moved towards the snake. "Leave him alone!" He ordered, not aware that to everyone else he was speaking another language. "Get away!"

Severus, his dark eyes wide with shock at the hissing noises his son made, stepped forward. "Vipera Evanesca!" The snake disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"What did you think you were doing?" Justin demanded looking fearfully at Harry.

Harry looked at him in surprise. He glanced around and saw everyone staring at him, including his dad. He frowned. "What?"

**HPHPHPHP**

Severus didn't say anything as he guided Harry out of the room, Ron and Hermione following.

"Blimey Harry, why didn't you tell us?" Ron asked when they were in the hall.

"Tell you what?" Harry asked in confusion.

"You can speak Parseltongue Harry." Severus said slowly. "Do you know what that is?"

Harry shook his head. "I've never even heard of it."

"It's snake language!" Ron threw his arms up. "You can speak to snakes!"

"Yes, thank you Mr. Weasley." Severus frowned at him and then focused back on Harry.

"I spoke a different language? Without even knowing it?" Harry asked in shock. How in Merlin's Beard could that be possible? He shook his head slightly. "I spoke to a snake before…accidently set it on my cousin…but I didn't know I was speaking a different language! It sounds like English to me."

"What were you telling the snake?" Hermione asked. "It almost looked like you were egging it on."

Harry scowled. "I wasn't! I was telling it to leave Justin alone."

"It's all right Harry." Severus said calmly, though he was worried. Hearing that particular language come from Harry had been startling. There was only one other that he had heard speak it.

"You –know-who spoke it!" Ron still couldn't get over it.

"Mr. Weasley, that's enough!" Severus glared.

Harry sucked in a breath. "They're going to think I'm the Heir of Slytherin!"

"Relax Harry. Yes, I'm sure there will be rumors starting but those who are your true friends will not listen to them." Severus said soothingly. He knew firsthand how vicious children could get and would do his best to protect Harry from any taunting. "You have a rare gift, that is all."

"So it doesn't mean that I'm…" Harry paused, trying to sort out the thoughts rambling in his head. "I mean, since Voldemort had it and he's evil does it mean that I'm-"

"No. Absolutely not." Severus said firmly. "You are not evil and being a Parseltongue does not make someone evil or bad. It is simply a rare gift." He favored his son with a serious look. "Do you understand me?"

Harry nodded. He had before thought it was cool that he could talk to snakes but that was when he had thought it was a wizard thing that everyone could do. He sighed. Yet something else that made him different. In the back of his mind he could hear his Aunt and Uncle calling him a freak and it made him wince.

"Harry?" Severus said, looking concerned. He needed to talk to Albus about these recent events as well as deal with a certain blonde Slytherin but he did not want to leave Harry when he was upset.

"I'm okay. I'm just surprised." Harry said. It wasn't the whole truth but he didn't want to get into what he was feeling.

Severus studied him for a moment. "Go to our quarters and wait for me. Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger, if you would not mind escorting him and then return to your tower. I will be home shortly." He patted his son on the shoulder as he made his way down the hallway.

"Come on Harry." Hermione said, gently pulling Harry by the arm.

"It will be okay mate." Ron added as they walked down to the dungeons. He felt bad that for his initial reaction. "It's pretty cool, actually. Maybe you can find a bunch of snakes and tell them to attack Malfoy!"

"Really Ron." Hermione sighed but was pleased to see Harry's face light up a bit.

"Imagine, Malfoy running around begging you to call them off!" Ron was getting more excited at the thought of the torment Harry's gift could do to their least favorite Slytherin.

Harry burst into laughter at the thought. When they reached his quarters, he felt a bit better. He was grateful for his friends. After they left, he wandered into his room and picked up his Mum's photo album. Somehow he had found that looking through it helped to calm him.

**HPHPHPHP**

"What does it mean Albus?" Severus asked after he had told the headmaster what had occurred.

"I believe that when Voldemort cast the killing curse and it rebounded, some of Voldemorts powers went into Harry." Albus said his twinkling eyes thoughtful. "Just like the scar on Harry's forehead, the ability to talk to snakes is simply something Harry was left with after the attack."

Severus was quiet. "So does Harry have some part of Voldemort in him?"

"I do not know for certain. I believe it was part of the spell rebounding. Voldemort lost all his powers that night and perhaps some found their way into Harry." Albus said. "It is something to look into of course. Is Harry all right?"

Severus ran a hand through his hair. "I tried to reassure him but I think he is still upset and confused. With the Heir of Slytherin talk going on, the school will pounce on this. I am happy that the Christmas break is upon us so I can give Harry time away from all the gossip."

Albus beamed at him. "Ah the first Christmas together since Harry was a baby. How wonderful!"

Severus agreed. He had not looked forward to a Christmas since the one with Lily and Harry. Normally he just stayed at the school and ignored the holiday as best he could but this year he had his son back and was determined to give him the best Christmas ever.

**TBC:**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

The gossip over Harry being a Parseltongue did indeed spread like wildfire through the school. Even the students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were looking at him with fear and suspicion while Slytherins were just laughing at him, although even some of them looked a little nervous when they saw him. The twins had tried to lighten the situations by making jokes about him being the Heir of Slytherin. The worst thing though was Percy. He was going through all the Gryffindor's trying to get them to sign a petition to have Harry resorted. Harry was furious about it but did not want his dad to find out and get upset, especially with their holiday plans coming up so he had made his friends promise not to say anything to McGonagall about it.

"I say over Christmas break we each think of a way of how to find out what Malfoy knows about the chamber." Hermione said seriously. "First Mrs. Norris was petrified and now nearly headless nick and Justin Finch- Fletchley? We need to find out as much as we can so we can tell the professors. It will also help with how you are being treated by certain students Harry, if we can get this cleared up."

It had been a shock when Nearly Headless Nick was found petrified alongside Justin. Nobody could understand what would be powerful enough to petrify a ghost. It also didn't help Harry's case that Justin had believed he tried to set a snake on him during the dueling club. Many of the students had decided to go home for the holidays as a result. The professors assured the students that they were looking into it but fear was growing. The truth was, it didn't seem like the adults knew anything.

"Hermione, are you really giving us homework over Christmas break?" Ron asked incredulously.

Hermione flushed. "I just thought that-"

"It's a good idea. We can try and think of some ideas to outsmart Malfoy right Ron?" Harry looked at his friend. He did really want to try and find out if Malfoy knew anything.

Ron sighed. "Yeah, can't be that hard. Since Malfoy is such a-"

"Watch your language Ronald." Hermione said absently as she looked over the final version of her charms essay.

Ron's mouth dropped open and Harry laughed. "I didn't say anything bad!"

"I know, because I stopped you." Hermione said mischievously.

Ron stuck his tongue out and then stretched. "Blimey, I can't wait until Christmas break. No homework, sleeping in and presents!"

"Really got the spirit of the season down huh Ron?' Harry teased.

"Oh I also meant you know, giving and joy and family and stuff." Ron added looking slightly embarrassed. He grinned. "And Christmas pudding, mince pies, cookies..."

Hermione laughed and turned to Harry. "You must really be looking forward to Christmas Harry, as it is the first one with your dad! Well, since you were one." She amended looking at Harry expectantly.

Harry nodded happily. "I really am looking forward to it! We're going to the cottage and get to have a tree and decorations and everything! It will be the first time I have ever decorated for Christmas!"

"And you guys are coming to my house for Christmas dinner." Ron grinned. "Although it will be kind of strange to have a professor in my home." He admitted.

"Don't think of him as your professor when he is there, just look at him as Harry's dad." Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's not like he will be able to take points from you for being annoying."

"Oi!" Ron pretended to steal her essay.

Harry grinned at his friends display and then let his thoughts turn to the holidays coming up. Mrs. Weasley had invited them for Christmas dinner and his dad had agreed. He said he would do a big breakfast and then they could open presents. Harry was also hoping they could play in the snow so he knew his dad not having to do dinner would be nice. Harry realized it was a big deal for his dad to agree to go to the Weasley's as he wasn't that social but was doing it so that Harry would have a full day of Christmas fun. Dumbledore was going to keep watch over his Slytherins so he could spend the whole break with Harry.

Harry hadn't been sure what to get his dad for Christmas. He had been getting an allowance and had been saving it so when looking through a gift magazine from some shops in Hogsmeade he had asked the twins to pick up the gifts for him when they went there on their field trip. They had been happy to help him so he had given them money to buy a few things like sweets to fill his Dad's stocking with. His dad didn't eat much sugar but there were a few things he admitted he loved. Liquorice wands and crystallised pineapple being among his favorite. He had also found a potions journal to write down all your ingredients and experiments in, his dad had one already but Harry had noticed it looked quite full so he decided to get him another one inscribed with To Dad, Love Harry on the cover and had also picked out a black and green scarf. He was glad he had been saving his money; he had just enough left over to buy gifts for Ron and Hermione which his dad would take him to get when break started. Harry was planning on a box of sweets for Ron and a stationary set for Hermione. He also had found a dragon figurine that looked like Norbert for Hagrid as well as treats for Hedwig. Harry was looking forward to seeing all the magical shops decorated for Christmas.

Two days later it was late in the evening when the floo in Snape Cottage flared to life and Severus and Harry stepped out. "Brr it's cold in here." Harry said, shivering a bit. It had already started to snow lightly outside and since they hadn't been here since summer, there was definite chill in the cottage.

"I'll take care of that." Severus said, pointing to the fireplace and a second later a warm roaring fire was started. "Go ahead and unpack your duffel bag and it should be warm when you come back downstairs." As Harry turned away, Severus cast a quick warming charm on the jumper he was wearing. Harry threw him a grateful smile and hurried upstairs, eager to see his room. He was probably unlike most kids his age as he had a real appreciation for both of his bedrooms. It stemmed from not having one for ten years. The one in the cottage he had decorated in dark browns and greens. It seemed to fit with being surrounded by rolling hills, a garden, and a stream. He put away his clothes and put his dad's presents under his bed for hiding. He put Hedwig's empty cage on his desk and peered out of his widow to see if she had arrived yet. He smiled when he saw her coming and quickly opened his window, wincing as the icy air hit him. "Hurry Hedwig, it is bloody freezing!" Hedwig gracefully flew in and perched herself next to her cage, shaking her wings out.

Harry closed the window and gave her a gentle pat on her back. "Let me know when you want to go back out. I can't keep the window open like in summer because it is too cold." She hooted her understanding and then closed her eyes and settled herself down to sleep.

Harry went downstairs and was happy to see his dad was right, it was toasty warm now. He saw two mugs of hot chocolate and picked one up, taking a sip. "Mmm."

"Does it meet with your approval?" Severus teased as he joined his son on the sofa. He picked up the other mug. "Did Hedwig get here yet?"

"She's sleeping in my room." Harry said, taking another sip of hot chocolate and letting the warmth wash over him.

"Upstairs should soon be just as warm as down here soon." Severus said, settling back. It felt nice to relax and not have the loud noise of students yelling or singing Christmas songs at the top of their lungs. Annoying dunderheads. "We can go to town tomorrow so you can buy your friend's their gifts."

"Brilliant!" Harry said grinning. "I already know what I'm going to get them."

"Oh?"

"Well, Ron loves food especially sweets so I'm going to get him a basket filled with them at Honeydukes and since Hermione writes to her parents so often I was thinking of getting her a stationary set. What do you think?" Harry asked a little anxiously.

"It sounds quite fitting." Severus said with a small smile. Harry was like Lily; she had loved giving presents as well and wanted to make sure she had picked out just the right gift. "We will be able to decorate tomorrow as well. If you are interested in doing so, of course." He smirked.

"I may be interested. A little bit." Harry broke into a grin. "I can't wait! What kind of decorations can we get? Can we get a big tree? Can we get colored lights because the Dursley's always had clear ones and I thought colored ones would be nice but once when I mentioned it Aunt Petunia laughed and said it didn't matter what I thought as Christmas wasn't for freaks anyway." Harry stopped. He hadn't meant to bring up the Dursley's, it had just slipped out.

Severus sat up and put his half empty mug on the coffee table. Harry rarely spoke of the Dursley's although Severus knew the ten years he had spent there had left its mark and likely there were issues that Harry would still need to deal with and talk through. He smiled inwardly knowing at least the Dursley's were probably not going to have a very restful holiday due to the potions he had given them. "You are not nor have ever been a freak. They should have included you in their celebrations Harry." He told his son seriously.

"Yeah, I know." Harry nodded.

Severus nodded as well. "I think colored lights will be perfect. And as it is getting late and we have a big day tomorrow, a good night's sleep sounds like just the thing."

Harry agreed and after he finished his drink he hugged his dad goodnight and went upstairs. Hedwig was still sleeping, her face buried under her wing in his now warm room. Harry got ready for bed and quickly snuggled down into the covers his dreams filled with snowmen and decorated trees.

**HPHPHPHP**

The next day, Harry burst through the front door with his arms full of packages. "Can we start decorating now Dad? Please?"

"Hmm." Severus pretended to think as he followed his son inside. "No homework you need to catch up on?"

Harry looked horrified at the thought. "No way! I finished all my assignments before break started." He narrowed his eyes. "Are you teasing me?"

Severus sniffed. "I am not known to tease young man."

"You are with me." Harry smirked and ducked his head when his dad pretended to swat at it. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Your reputation as the fearsome potions professor is still intact."

"I should hope so." Severus said as he took out the tree he had shrunk. "Where would you like to put the tree?"

"Um, in the corner near the fireplace? It would look nice there." Harry said and watched as Severus put the little tree down and then waved his wand over it. Instantly it grew into its true size which was tall and full and a beautiful dark green. Harry beamed.

Severus and Harry began putting garland and lights onto the tree and then started on the ornaments they had bought. Some were in the shape of candy canes and Father Christmas and gingerbread men but there were also ornaments in the shape of golden snitches, cauldrons, wands and brooms. Harry thought it looked brilliant once it was all on.

Severus cleared his throat and summoned a box that landed in front of them. "I found these; they were still here from before we cast the memory charm. They are some older ornaments." He looked a little sad yet had a smile on his face. "I thought you would like to go through them. There is not a lot. Some were from when Lily was a child and the rest are ones she bought after we got married and when we had you."

Harry eagerly opened the box and smiled at the homemade ornaments he pulled out. He held one that was a blue bear with the words Harry's First Christmas sewn into it. He looked up at his dad. "Did Mum make this?"

Severus nodded. "She made a lot of the ornaments, some using charms and others she did the muggle way. She enjoyed making this one particularly. She started on it after she found out she was expecting you."

Harry ran his finger over the little bear face. _Harry Bear_. In her letter to him, his Mum had written that that was what she had called him as a baby. "May I hang it on the tree?"

"Of course. We can hang all of them; the tree is certainly big enough." Severus said as he picked one up that Lily had bought after they were first married. They hung the rest of the ornaments and then put garland above the fireplace with two stockings hanging. Severus also added garland to the staircase rails. Harry was gazing happily around the festive sitting room when another ornament suddenly flew in front of him. "Huh?"

"It is a new ornament. This one I put a copy of that picture of you, your mother and I that was taken after you were born." Severus explained.

Harry stared at the ornament. It looked like a snow globe only their picture was what was inside. When you shook it, it looked like it was snowing on them. He had the original picture framed in his room. "I love it. It's like making her part of our Christmas." He hung the ornament right in the center of the tree. "Is it weird that I miss her even though I don't remember her?"

"Of course it is not. She is a part of you Harry and always with you." Severus said as they both gazed at the picture. "I see so much of her in you."

"Yeah?" Harry had heard his dad say this before but he never got enough of talking about his mum. "In what ways?"

Severus smiled knowingly. "You have her eyes of course and her smile. You tilt your head to the side when you are thinking about something just like she did. Your enthusiasm for putting up the decorations and picking out gifts for your friends is just like her as well. I see her in you every day."

Tears burned behind Harry's eyes at the statement. It always got to him when his dad told him things like this yet he knew he would never get tired of hearing it.

"I remember the first time she got me a Christmas gift when we were children. It was the game Jacks and she taught me how to play it. That Christmas was the first happy one I had had in a long time." Severus said quietly, his eyes faraway.

Harry smiled sadly. His dad didn't talk much about his parents and from the letter his Mum had sent him he gathered that his dad didn't have a happy childhood. "Were your parents…" He hesitated. "I mean, did they treat you…"

Severus patted Harry's shoulder. "My mother was kind but very insecure. She let my father intimate her even though she had magic. He was not a nice man to either of us. He was a muggle and much like the Dursley's, he was jealous of our magic and grew to hate us for it. My mother's kindness to me and Lily's friendship helped me to endure my childhood."

"I'm sorry Dad; you didn't deserve to be treated like that as a child either." Harry whispered sadly.

Severus took a deep breath and then grabbed his child into a hug. He hadn't meant for the conversation to turn to his own childhood but maybe it would help Harry see that he really did understand how it must have been living with the Dursley's. "I love you Harry."

"I love you too Dad." Harry said. With a wave of his wand Severus made the lights glow in vibrant colors and they both sat on the sofa, simply watching the lights on the tree.

**TBC:**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: Slightly shorter chapter as I wanted it to just be Harry and Severus having their Christmas together before heading to the Weasley's. =)**

Harry woke up the next morning and stretched before snuggling back down into his warm comforter. Suddenly his eyes popped open as he realized it was Christmas morning! He jumped up and looked outside his window. It had stopped snowing and now everything was beautifully covered in a blanket of white snow. It looked like a Christmas card outside. He wondered if he could get his dad to actually play in the snow with him later. He checked to see if Hedwig had returned from delivering the gift he had sent to Hermione yet. Since he was seeing Ron later that day, he could deliver that one personally. His dad had also bought a gift certificate for The Three Broomsticks for the whole Weasley family as a gift.

Wondering if he could go downstairs yet he peered out his doorway and quietly went down half the staircase where he could see the tree. It really was a magnificent tree and was still lit up, full of the wonderful ornaments. Under the tree lay scattering, brightly colored packages with big bows and both stockings hung on the fireplace were full. Harry had put his gifts for his dad under the tree before going to bed last night as well as filling his dads stocking with the candy he had asked the twins to buy for him. Harry grinned to himself. This was going to be even better than last year. He remembered hearing Dudley lumber down the stairs to open his gifts while Harry had remained in his cupboard, only able to listen to the laughter and unwrapping of presents.

"I thought I heard a little mouse." Severus came up behind Harry.

"Merry Christmas Dad!" Harry hugged him.

"Merry Christmas Harry." Severus said with a slight twinkle in his dark eyes. He had been waiting for his son to get up, almost as excited as his child for Christmas morning. "Grab your dressing gown and slippers and then meet me downstairs okay?"

Harry nodded not having realized he had forgotten his robe. He quickly went and put on his dark green robe and slippers and hurried downstairs. His dad snapped a photo of him and laughed when Harry blinked his eyes in surprise. "We have to document our first Christmas in a long time do we not? I believe we can add to the photo album from your mother." Severus said knowing his wife would have tried to take pictures of every moment. He charmed the camera to float on its own and randomly take pictures of them while they opened their gifts.

"Do you want breakfast first or presents first?" Severus asked knowing the answer already.

"Well, presents. Unless you're hungry now, I don't mind eating first." Harry said hastily, not wanting to sound childish or selfish.

"Presents first." Severus said. There was a tapping on the window and he opened it to let Hedwig in. She dropped several parcels under the tree.

"Hedwig!" Harry said happily, petting his snowy owl. "I left treats for you upstairs." He told her. She hooted in approval and flew up the stairs.

"Well, it appears we are ready to start." Severus settled himself into a reclining chair ready to enjoy watching his son open his gifts.

Harry went and grabbed the stockings, handing his dad his first. "You remembered my favorite sweets! Very thoughtful of you Harry." Severus said as he peered into his stocking.

Harry took a look in his and saw taffy, ice mice, and chocoballs. He also pulled out a deck of cards that had famous Quidditch's player on them and a spinner ball that when you spun it, it lit up like a firecracker and exploded into several different colors. "Brilliant, thanks Dad!"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "How do you know it is from me? Father Christmas may have left that for you."

"Right." Harry rolled his eyes good naturedly and then settled to open his first gift. "These presents are the ones Hedwig brought. They're from Hermione, Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore! Look, the Headmaster sent you one too!" He handed his dad a brightly colored present.

Severus sighed. "Yes he usually does. Last year he gave me red and gold socks. I was not amused." He heard his son laugh as he opened this year's gift. Red and gold slippers with a lions face on each of them. "Hilarious Albus." He muttered.

Harry couldn't stop laughing. Only Dumbledore could get away with that without risking getting hexed! His dad pulled a book out of the same box and a pleased look went over his face. "This is more like it. Now I don't regret us sending him a gift certificate to Honeydukes so he can stock up on lemon drops."

Harry peered at the book noting it was a book on new potion theories. His dad tossed the slippers at Harry. "Here you go."

Harry snickered as he opened Hermione's and Hagrid's gifts while his dad looked through his new book. Hagrid had sent a tin of treacle fudge and Hermione had given him a very impressive eagle-feather quill. Harry opened Dumbledore's gift and his smile widened. It was green and silver slippers with a snake on each of them. He tossed them at his dad. "Here you go."

Severus looked up in surprise and then glanced at the slippers. "That old man thinks he is very amusing." He commented, keeping the slippers by him. He admired the quill Harry had received. "That is very nice. It will be excellent to use for your homework."

Harry shook his head as he continued opening his gifts. "Wow, a practice snitch! Thank you!" He was a little surprised as practice snitches helped you improve your seeking skills. His Dad must really not mind if he did well against the Slytherin team. His dad had also had bought him a new watch that had little snitches in the place of numbers, a model of an owl that looked like Hedwig that actually flew, several new items of clothes, age appropriate wizard novels, and a thick warm quilt done in brilliant maroon with a realistic looking lion stitched into it. Harry was overwhelmed; he had never gotten so much before. He looked up at his dad who was watching him with a look of satisfaction on his face. "It's so much. Thank you." Harry said sincerely.

Severus shook his head. "It is my joy to give to you Harry. Though you are very welcome."

Harry handed his dad his gifts for him. Severus looked pleased as he opened the scarf. "This is very nice Harry. Thank you." Besides being green and black, there was a large silver S stitched in it. He opened the next present and his eyes widened a bit. "This is wonderful Harry! I needed a new potions journal. Thank you son!"

"You're welcome." Harry said, relieved his dad appeared to generally like his gifts.

With a wave of his wand Severus cleared the room of crumpled wrapping paper. "I'm going to start on breakfast. Go ahead and look through your new things, it won't take me long."

Harry sat on the floor against the sofa and looked through his new novels as they looked interesting. It was a series following a young auror and all the adventure he had with the cases he went on. When his dad called him he was already several chapters in the first book.

Severus had done a full English breakfast and they ate until they were stuffed. "Do you want to play in the snow with me?" Harry asked hopefully.

Severus paused as he cleared away their dishes. "Me? Play in the snow? You mean leave our nice warm cottage and go out where it is cold and wet and throw frozen water around?"

"Yup." Harry said brightly.

Severus pretended to give a long suffering sigh. "I suppose I should test out my new scarf. Very well. Go put on warm clothes and socks and we will go outside."

Harry grinned and scurried out of the kitchen. Severus smiled as he pulled the camera that had been following them all morning and cast a weather protection charm on it so it could follow them outside. Although if anyone at school saw pictures of him playing in the snow he would never live it down. Oh well. The things parents did for their children.

They spent an hour throwing snowballs at each other and building a snowman that included glasses and a long beard that Severus had named Albus DumbleSnow. Harry had laughed hysterically at that and made sure that the camera took a picture of it. Harry knew the Headmaster would get a kick out of it. When they went inside they changed into dry clothes and had a light lunch as they knew Mrs. Weasley would have a feast waiting for dinner.

"This has been a perfect Christmas." Harry said as he lounged on the sofa, tired from playing outside. Severus was in his reclining chair and they both were sipping hot apple cider.

"That it has. Just as perfect as your very first Christmas." Severus smiled in memory. "You weren't even five months old yet so of course you had no clue it was Christmas but Lily was so excited for you to see your presents."

"Really?" Harry asked interestedly.

Severus nodded and began to tell him about the only Christmas the three of them had shared together.

"_Severus?" Lily whispered to her still sleeping husband. She huffed in annoyance and gave him a slight push. "Sev?" She narrowed her green eyes and gave him a mighty shove that almost made him fall off the bed._

"_What the-"Severus was startled awake and looked around the room. His gaze settled on his wife who was looking at him with an innocent look._

"_Oh, you're up too?" Lily asked with a bright smile. "Wonderful! I bet Harry is ready to open his Christmas presents!"_

_Severus looked at her suspiciously. "Did you wake me up on purpose?" He asked in a mock growl._

"_It's Christmas morning Sev. Harry's first Christmas!" Lily looked as excited as a five year old child._

_Severus chuckled and settled back down to sleep. "He is not even five months yet Lily." He closed his eyes and a moment later a pillow thumped over his face. He grabbed Lily and playfully flung her on her back and kissed her. "All right. You win."_

_Lily laughed and kissed him back. "Don't I always?" She teased as she got up to get their son._

_Severus was downstairs making coffee and getting a juice cup ready when Lily came into the living room with Harry, who was blinking his eyes sleepily. His eyes widened when he saw the tree and the presents lying underneath. He began babbling nonsense words. Lily looked smug. "See? He is aware."_

_Severus rolled his eyes yet had a smile as they sat down on the floor next to their son who was propped up with pillows, though he was able to sit up on his own for short periods of time. "Ready Harry Bear?" Lily picked up the first present and helped her son open it. "Blocks!" She told her son, handing him one and showing him how to use them to build. She built a tower and Harry looked at it curiously and then stuck out his little fist knocking them all down. "Baa!" He said happily. Severus couldn't help laughing along with his wife._

_Severus and Lily helped Harry open several more presents that were toys, board books with bright pictures in them, a stuffed lion and snake that spoke Harry's name. Harry squealed when they did and clapped his hands together._

_Severus got up and pulled out the last gift from behind the tree which was a walking ring. They put Harry in and he loved it, playing with the toys and bouncing up and down. As Harry played, they exchanged their gifts to each other. Lily had gotten her husband rare potion ingredients that she had been able to track down as well as several new potion bottles and vials. Severus had given her a necklace with her birthstone and a silk shawl that was the same color as her eyes. "I love them. Thank you Sev." Lily said softly as she looked into his dark eyes. His eyes softened warmly as he kissed her nose. "Thank you Lily. You and Harry are the best gift I could have ever received." He responded._

_Lily snuggled into Severus as they settled into the sofa to watch their son. "Isn't this wonderful? What could be better than Christmas in our cottage watching our son play with his toys?"_

_Severus agreed and looked forward to many more holidays with his wife and son._

"Unfortunately, that was our first and last Christmas with the three of us together." Severus said quietly as he finished telling Harry the story. Harry was leaning against him, having gotten up to sit with him in his recliner as he told the story. He was half asleep and clearly tired from getting up early and playing in the snow. "But now you and I have the start of many more Christmas's together." Severus continued as he leaned his head back and decided to take a little nap as well. "Many, many more."

**TBC:**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! They are very encouraging! =) **

Christmas dinner at the Weasley house was a noisy affair, although probably any meal was a noisy affair in their household. They had their own tree with homemade ornaments strewn all over it and tinsel thrown haphazardly on and in the corner of the living room fake snow came down in soft flakes yet they didn't melt. Mrs. Weasley had charmed them since it was too dark and cold to play in the snow now.

"Keep the snow in that corner!" Mrs. Weasley called as the children played. She sighed as a snowball landed on her dinner table and banished it with her wand.

"Sorry Mum!" Ron called.

"He meant to hit Professor Snape!" Fred added.

"I did not!" Ron practically squealed his eyes widening in horror. "Tell him you were kidding!"

The twins just laughed as did Harry and Ginny. Bill and Charlie, the eldest boys were home for Christmas and were watching their siblings with amusement. The only one who didn't join in the fun was Percy, who sat across the room writing in some sort of book and ignoring everyone else. He didn't appear to want to join in any of the festivities.

Harry was having a great time and hoped his dad was too. Severus was sitting in the kitchen with Mr. Weasley talking as Mrs. Weasley bustled around getting the food ready, ignoring their offers to help her. Harry watched in amusement as she shooed them away each time they tried.

Harry was relieved to see Ginny looking happier and more relaxed than she did at school. It probably had been homesickness that had made her look so sad and maybe now that she had been with her parents she would be able to enjoy being at school more.

Harry had given Ron his gift which Ron had immediately started eating and had given Harry a book, _Flying with the Cannons. _"How was your Christmas morning?" Harry asked as they took a break from playing in the falling snow.

"Great! I got Quidditch gear and new comic books and of course my annual jumper. Oh." Ron grinned slowly. "I think my Mum made another jumper for you. And one for your Dad."

Harry snickered. "Really? That will be priceless. I wonder if I can get him to wear it." I should have brought the camera from home, he thought mischievously.

Ron laughed. "Can you imagine? No one at school would believe it." He glanced over at Percy who was still writing. "The twins, Ginny and I didn't get Percy anything after the way he has been treating you. Bill and Charlie aren't too happy with him either and tried talking to him about his attitude."

"They don't know about his petition to get me out of Gryffindor do they?" Harry whispered. He still didn't want his dad to know, especially during Christmas.

Ron shook his head. "In the New Year though if he doesn't stop, Fred and George are going to take things into their own hands. Which is always fun." Ron grinned. Harry grinned back.

Dinner was delicious consisting of roast turkey with chestnut stuffing and roast potatoes. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were thrilled with the certificate Severus and Harry gave them. Harry tried to suppress a grin when he was handed a maroon jumper with a big H on it and his dad was handed a green jumper with a big S on it.

"Why, thank you Molly." Severus said politely as he eyed the jumper warily. He folded it and sat it next to him.

Ron nudged Harry so Harry turned to his dad. "It's getting a little cold in here; do you want to put your jumper on?" He kept an innocent expression on his face.

Snickering could be heard from the Weasley children as Severus stiffened slightly and gave his son a _look_. "Actually, I am quite warm right now. It will be perfect for tomorrow when I supervise you shoveling the snow though."

Harry cleared his throat and took the hint, glaring at Ron who was laughing behind his hand.

After they had filled up on pie and pudding the children played more games in the living room while the adults drank coffee and discussed the happenings at Hogwarts.

"Does anyone have any idea of what is actually going on? Are the students even safe anymore?" Mrs. Weasley asked clearly worried.

"I'm sure you heard that there have been two students petrified. We are making sure that all students are now supervised in-between classes. As long as they follow the new restrictions they should be fine." Severus said more confidently than he felt. He was worried too. Even with the restrictions, Justin Finch-Fletchley had still been attacked. "The Headmaster hopes to find whoever is behind this soon before anymore attacks happen. If it comes to it, Minerva will close Hogwarts until the situation is resolved."

Mr. Weasley exchanged a look with his wife. "What about the chamber? Ron told us the rumors about it going around about it and I remember hearing stories about it in my day."

"If there was such a chamber with some sort of monster, it would have been found by now." Severus said. "All we can do is keep watch over the students and keep aware of anything that doesn't seem right." Like a house elf warning my son to not return to Hogwarts and Harry hearing a strange voice. Harry had said he hadn't heard anything since that time in Lockhart's office so Severus was starting to think it had been his imagination or someone walking by the classroom. Although he had to admit, that would be quite a coincidence.

**HPHPHPHP**

In the other room Ron and Harry were playing chess and talking about how to find out from Malfoy if he knew anything about the chamber. "Why don't we just confront him point blank? Tell him we know he is behind it." Ron suggested as he made a move on the board.

"He wouldn't admit to it. Plus Dumbledore said a student couldn't have petrified anyone." Harry said as he decided which pawn to move.

"Yeah, but all Malfoy had to do was ask his father. Mr. Malfoy was probably happy to teach his son how to get rid of those who are not purebloods." Ron said in disgust. "If anyone would know that kind of dark magic it would be him. He was a complete git when we ran into him and his git of a son in Diagon alley. He made remarks about Hermione's parents, how we Weasley's are poor, and made fun of Ginny's second hand books."

Harry nodded. Ron and Hermione had told him this before but he let Ron vent. He now knew what it was like to want to defend your family. He had felt the same way when Malfoy had talked bad about his dad. "We need a way to trick him into telling us. But I have no clue how." Harry sighed. "I don't want to go back to school at all. I'm sick of everyone looking at me like I'm a freak because of the Parseltongue thing. It's amazing how quickly people can turn on you."

"Not everyone has Harry. Most of our friends think you being the Heir of Slytherin is rubbish." Ron protested.

"Maybe. Most still seem wary of me because I'm not Harry Potter anymore." Harry shrugged. "They treat me as if my Dad being the potions professor is a curse or something."

"We do go to school with some idiots." Ron agreed, causing Harry to laugh and be grateful that he did have such amazing friends.

"Harry, it is getting late. We should go." Severus called to him from the kitchen.

Harry made a face as Ron quickly beat him in the game and got up. "I need to practice more." He said with a sigh while Ron was grinning.

"You should. I need a challenge." Ron teased.

Harry punched his shoulder lightly. "Merry Christmas prat." He said goodbye to everyone except Percy who simply glared at him when he made eye contact. He almost winced at the clear loathing in his eyes. He turned away and thanked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and then stepped into the floo with his dad, ready to go home.

The lights were still on shining on the tree when Harry made to go to his room for the night. He had stayed up for a little while longer, reading more of his new books. He went over to his dad who was also reading his new book from Dumbledore. "Thanks for such a perfect Christmas Dad."

Severus pulled him in for a hug. "Thank _you_ for such a wonderful Christmas Harry. Perhaps tomorrow we can put the photos that were taken today into your photo album."

Harry's eyes lit up at the thought of adding to his Mum's book. "That would be brilliant! Goodnight Dad."

"Goodnight Harry." Severus watched him go upstairs, feeling happy and completely content with how the day had gone. It had truly been a Merry Christmas.

**HPHPHPHP**

To soon Christmas break was over and the students returned to Hogwarts. Harry and his dad had arrived a day early so Severus could do some preparation in his classroom for the new term. Harry had talked to a few of the students who had stayed at school during the break and also played with his practice snitch on the field when no one was around. He also made sure to find Hagrid and Dumbledore to thank them for the Christmas gifts. He had even given the Headmaster a copy of the picture of DumbleSnow and just as Harry had predicted, Dumbledore had thought it was hilarious.

Harry waited at the Hogwarts entrance and smiled when he saw Ron and Hermione. "Hey guys!"

"Harry! Did you have a good Christmas?" Hermione asked after giving him a hug.

"It was brilliant. Thank you for the quill by the way. It's great." Harry said, moving to the side as some students bumped into him.

"I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for the stationary set, I will put it to good use. I write to my parents every week." Hermione said as they began making their way to Gryffindor tower. "So, did either of you think of a way to get Malfoy to talk?"

"Yeah but Harry didn't think threatening to turn him into a flobberworm would work." Ron quipped as he Harry gave the password to the Fat Lady.

"I may have come up with an idea but I need to do a little research first." Hermione informed them.

Harry was about to ask what idea when he sneezed.

"Bless you." Hermione said. "Are you sick?"

"Nah, it's just allergies or something." Harry had noticed a tickle in his throat after flying earlier but had dismissed it. It was still there and his throat did feel a little sore but he shrugged it off. He was probably just tired and said so.

Ron nodded. "It always takes a few days to catch up on sleep after being able to stay up later, play games and do no homework."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Is that all you did during the break?" She asked in a slight scolding tone.

"No, I played Quidditch with my brothers as well." Ron shot back. "What did you do?"

"Visited family, went skiing, and studied." Hermione answered.

Harry looked confused. "Studied what? We all finished our homework before break."

Hermione sighed. "I studied ahead. I wanted to be familiar with the material we will be learning this term. Something you two should have done as well. I also did some thinking on our Malfoy problem, which reminds me I need to make a run to the library."

"What is the plan?" Ron wanted to know.

"I told you, I need to do some additional research first. I'll tell you guys tomorrow if I think it can work. I'll see you at dinner!" Hermione took off, leaving the two boys to simply shrug at each other.

**HPHPHPHP**

After dinner in the great hall Harry was feeling worse. His throat still hurt and now his head ached and he kept sneezing.

"Harry maybe you should go to the infirmary." Hermione said worriedly as they began walking back to their tower.

Harry sneezed again. "I'm okay. It's nothing."

"I don't know mate, you don't look too good." Ron said. "Maybe you really should go to the infirmary."

"An excellent idea."

The trio turned and saw Severus standing behind them. His dark eyes looked at his son in concern. He had been able to see from the head table that Harry had been sneezing quite a bit and hardly had eaten anything. Up close he could see that Harry was pale and pain and fatigue were in his eyes. "Come with me Harry." He ordered gently yet firmly. He put a hand to Harry's forehead. It was quite warm.

Harry sighed, not having the energy to argue that he didn't want to go to the infirmary. "See you guys later."

"Feel better!" Hermione called after them.

Severus guided his son to the infirmary grateful that Poppy was in there still. "Please tell me you at least have all your bones." Poppy commented when she saw them.

Severus pointed to a cot. "Sit." He said. He turned to Poppy. "He's sneezing, pale and has a fever."

Poppy ran a diagnostic over Harry and nodded. "He has a cold. Nothing severe though. Pepperup potion, a headache reliever, and a good night's rest should take care of it."

Severus was relieved that it was nothing serious. "I have some Pepperup in our quarters, I'll treat him there. Thank you Poppy."

"If anything gets worse, though I doubt it will, let me know immediately." Poppy instructed.

Severus nodded in understanding and helped Harry hop down from the cot. "Come on son." He said quietly. Once they got to their rooms, Severus got Harry settled into bed and cast a warming charm on his comforter. He disappeared for a minute and came back with the Pepperup potion and a headache potion and a glass of pumpkin juice. Harry took both potions and his eyes widened a bit when he felt steam come out from his ears. He remembered making this potion with his dad in the summer and but had forgotten this little side effect. He felt the effects right away as his breathing felt easier and his headache went away. He took a sip of juice to get rid of the gross taste of the potions.

Severus watched him critically. "Drink up. Would you like some soup or a sandwich? You didn't eat much at dinner."

"Can I have tomato soup?" Harry asked hopefully as that was his favorite. He was feeling hungrier now that the potions had taken affect.

Severus nodded. "I'll make you some. Stay in bed." As he walked away, Harry heard knocking. A moment later Severus returned with a resigned expression and Hermione and Ron in tow. "You may visit for a few minutes while I make him some soup." He told them. "Then you will need to go back to your tower."

"Thank you Professor." Hermione said politely. She gave Harry a sympathetic look. "I knew you were sick! How are you feeling now?"

"Much better. It's just a minor cold." Harry said sitting up a bit. He exchanged a grin with Ron when Hermione fussed over him by fluffing up his pillows.

"The problem is that you boys do not dress warmly enough when you go outside." Hermione scolded.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Hey, tell him your idea before Snape comes back." Ron said in a near whisper. "She knows how we can get to Malfoy!"

"How?" Harry asked excitedly.

"It would mean breaking about fifty school rules." Hermione said slowly.

"Well, what is it?" Harry sounded impressed that she would be willing to break any rules at all. Ron looked proud of her.

Hermione hesitated. "Polyjuice Potion."

**TBC:**

**A/N: I also posted the first chapter of a new story called On the Flip Side! =)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

"What?" Harry asked, not remembering reading about that potion before.

"Polyjuice potion. When you add a person's hair you transform into looking like that person. It lasts about an hour." Hermione said. "It's complicated and takes a month to brew but I think I can do it." She hesitated. "There are a couple of ingredients that we would need from Professor Snape's stock." She glanced at Harry who shook his head.

"I'm not stealing from my dad." Harry said firmly. He did not even want to imagine the look on his dad's face if he got caught.

"Of course you won't. I will and Ron will cause the distraction that will give me the chance." Hermione said confidently.

Ron's eyes widened. "Are you mental? There is no way I am going to do that! You didn't mention that part of your plan to me! Can you imagine what Snape would do to me if I got caught? Never mind my parents?" Ron gulped. "Can you imagine the howler I would receive?" He shuddered at the thought.

"Do you want to find out what Malfoy knows or not!" Hermione snapped. "I don't want to steal but we need to know don't we? Do you want to find out what is going on around here or don't you?"

Harry was silent. He did want to know if Malfoy knew anything about the chamber of secrets but he did not want to risk getting into trouble with his dad. He still felt guilty over the car incident. And even if he wasn't the one stealing or causing the distraction, he would know about it. "No, we can't. He's my dad; I can't do that to him." Harry said finally. "We'll have to figure out another way."

Hermione exchanged a glance with Ron. "Okay Harry." She said smoothly.

"Yeah, we'll figure out something else." Ron said quickly.

Even though Harry was feeling back to normal the next morning, his dad had given permission for him to miss his morning classes in order to get more rest. Harry knew he was all better but was not going to argue over missing his classes. He had slept in and ate the breakfast his dad had left out for him under a warming charm. Now he was flipping through a Quidditch magazine when his dad stalked in muttering to himself. "Foolish children! Is this a zoo or a school? Irresponsible brats! When I find out who did it…" He stopped at seeing Harry.

"What's wrong? Did a cauldron melt?" Harry asked trying not to laugh at the way his dad was pacing and muttering to himself.

"No, some dunderheaded student threw a fire cracker into a cauldron! It caused several students to be splashed with Swelling Solution!" Severus said furiously. "I was lucky to have the deflating draughts on hand for it. When I find out who did it, they will be expelled!"

Harry's mouth dropped open. "Which class did this happen in?" He managed to ask.

"My Gryffindor and Slytherin class." Severus answered with a scowl. "Since it was Mr. Goyle's cauldron I can only assume it was a Gryffindor!" He eyed Harry. "If you hear who did it, I want you to tell me. What that student did was very dangerous and they need to be made aware of that fact. Of course, I doubt they would mention it in front of you since you are my son." He went back to pacing.

Harry was quiet as he watched his dad silently rage at said student. He knew it had to be Hermione and Ron! His dad obviously didn't know about certain stolen ingredients yet. Harry looked down at his magazine to hide his own anger. He had told Ron and Hermione not to do it! And he couldn't tell his dad it was them as they were his best friends, plus his dad might have them expelled. Harry thought quickly. He had to at least get the ingredients returned to his dad, preferably before his dad noticed they were missing.

"I'm sorry you had a bad morning." Harry said feeling guilty even though he had not even been there.

Severus sighed and sat down. "It's not your fault. I just can't believe how foolish children can be sometimes or where they get their ideas." He took out his wand and quickly cast a diagnostic over Harry. "You still feel well?"

"Yes." Harry rolled his eyes good naturally. "You don't have to fuss over me so, I'm fine now."

"I do not _fuss_." Severus said sounding insulted. "I was concerned as any parent would be."

"You reminded me of Mrs. Weasley." Harry teased and laughed when his dad gave him a shocked look.

"That's it, a million points from Gryffindor." Now it was Severus turn to laugh at the horror stricken look on his son's face. "Just kidding Harry."

Harry grinned; he loved the moments when he and his dad bantered back and forth. It was what he had always imagined having a father to be like. Someone there to care for you when you don't feel good, encourage you, tease with you. He was once again grateful to his mum for her letters.

"It is almost time for lunch in the great hall and then you may resume your afternoon classes." Severus said. He felt better after spending time with his son although he was still determined to find the culprit that dared toss around firecrackers in his class.

**HPHPHPHP**

"Are you two completely mental?" Harry hissed at Ron and Hermione when he slid into the seat next to them at lunch.

"What do you mean?" Hermione blushed uncomfortably.

"A firecracker in a cauldron?" Harry shook his head.

"You should have seen it Harry! Malfoy got some on his nose and it bulged out to the size of a balloon!" Ron said enthusiastically.

Harry started to grin at the mental image but then shook his head again. "You shouldn't have done it! You two said you wouldn't." He glared at Hermione. "Did you steal the ingredients?"

Hermione nodded, looking extremely guilty. "I took Boomslang skin and Bicorn horn."

Harry shut his eyes. "Give them to me; I'm going to return them." He said firmly.

"What! No way! After what I went through to get them?" Ron protested, keeping his voice down so no one would hear them.

"My dad is determined to find out who did it and expel them!" Harry informed his friends who both paled. "You can imagine how much more angry he will be when he finds out his ingredients were stolen."

Hermione sighed. Besides wanting to know if Malfoy knew about the chamber, she really had wanted to try her hand at the Polyjuice potion. But it was not worth getting expelled over or upsetting her friend so much. She reached into her bag to pull them out and gasped.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked at her friends in horror. "They're gone! The ingredients are gone!"

**HPHPHPHP**

Harry was walking the hallway with his friends speculating what could have happened to the ingredients when Professor McGonagall stopped them and told Harry that his father wanted to see him immediately. She escorted Harry to his quarters and then left him.

"Dad?" Harry asked. He spotted his dad standing by his room, his face tense.

"I went to put the Quidditch magazine you left out back in your room." Severus said slowly. "I saw those on your desk."

Curious, Harry peeked in and was startled to see the ingredients Hermione had stolen sitting on his desk!

"I had checked my stocks and saw that two items were missing and now I find them in here." Severus stared at Harry.

"I-I didn't take them! Honest! I don't know how they could have gotten here!" Harry was shocked. How in the world had they gotten in here? He looked his dad directly in the eyes. "I didn't take them sir."

"Relax Harry, I know you didn't." Severus said, quickly easing his son's worries. "Whoever did put them in your room obviously caused the firecracker mishap but how could they have gotten in here?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know." He murmured. How had someone known Hermione had stolen the ingredients and why would they place them in here?

Severus was worried. How in Merlin's name had someone gotten into his quarters? They were heavily warded! Suddenly he caught movement across the room. "Hey!"

Harry swirled around and saw a house elf staring at them with wide eyes. "Dobby!"

"Dobby is sorry Mr. Snape sirs, but Dobby just wants to protect young Mr. Snape.!" Dobby wailed. "Dobby thought Professor would send young Mr. Snape away if he was caught stealing! But you's not get mad!" Dobby looked almost accusingly at Severus. "Especially after Dobby fixed the bludger-"

"That was you!" Harry yelled. "Are you trying to kill me or something?"

Dobby's eyes widened even more and tears filled them. "No Mr. Snape, never kill you. Dobby is only trying to get you out of Hogwarts! That is why Dobby blocked the barrier. Bad things is starting to happen!"

"Explain that right now! And whose family do you belong to?" Severus began heading towards the frightened elf. "Answer me!"

With a pop Dobby vanished.

"Unbelievable!" Severus hissed. His rooms were warded against people but not house elves. That was about to change. He trusted the house elves at Hogwarts but after this unexpected visit he would set his wards to alert him anytime a house elf entered.

"How dare that elf charm that bludger to hurt you! And he stole my ingredients!" Severus was seething, muttering about potions that he could make using House elf parts.

Harry was in shock but he knew that Dobby hadn't stolen the ingredients from his dad; he had stolen them from Hermione. "He must be watching us." Harry said finally. How else would Dobby have known about the ingredients?

"Yes, he is probably popping in undetected." Severus said his eyes deep in thought. "I need to speak with the headmaster. I will walk you to your tower first."

"Why can't I come with you?" Harry practically whined.

"Because I said so." Severus said shortly. He didn't know what was going on and if this Dobby actually had information on the chamber but he did not want to worry Harry with any of it.

Harry made a face. What kind of response is that?

"If you see Dobby again, you will let me know. Have you heard that strange voice again?" Severus asked.

Harry shook his head. "No." He said sullenly. He wanted to know what was happening and didn't think it was fair that he couldn't go with his dad to talk to Dumbledore.

Severus knew Harry was upset but he would not waver on this. He would protect Harry as much as possible. It was bad enough that he was involved as much as he already was. "I'll see you in the great hall for dinner."

"Bye." Harry said, still feeling put out. He went into the common room and found Hermione and Ron sitting by the fireplace doing their homework. Well, Hermione was doing homework and Ron was doodling on his parchment.

"What did your Dad want? Did he find out about what we did?" Hermione asked nervously.

Harry quickly told them what had happened with Dobby.

"I can't believe he's been watching you and stole those ingredients!" Hermione said indignantly. She blushed when Harry gave her a pointed look, reminding her that she had stolen first.

"I can't believe he blocked the barrier! We got grounded for that!" Ron raged.

Hermione rolled her brown eyes. "You two got grounded for flying your father's car Ronald. Dobby didn't make you do that."

Ron scowled at her but didn't say anything.

"I can't believe he was behind the bludger. He must really think you need to leave Hogwarts." Hermione said thoughtfully. "Do you guys think it has to do with the chamber of secrets?"

Harry nodded. "It has to." Nothing else made sense. He thought for a moment. "The rumors that have been going around claim someone had been expelled after that student got killed after the chamber was supposedly opened the first time. I wonder if it was Hagrid."

"Hagrid?" Ron's mouth fell open. "He was expelled?"

"Yeah he told me when he delivered my Hogwarts letter." Harry informed them.

"Hagrid wouldn't open a chamber and let loose a monster that would kill students." Ron shook his head.

"No, not to kill students. But he is fascinated with creatures. What if he was able to open it and wanted to just see the monster?" Hermione wondered aloud.

Harry jumped up, wanting to do something. Anything to find out what was going on. "We should go ask him!"

"It's almost curfew Harry." Hermione protested. "I've broken enough rules today. Let's wait until tomorrow."

Harry exchanged a look with Ron. "Fine." He said, acting the way she did when she had made him think she and Ron wouldn't steal from his dad.

Hermione looked at them suspiciously as she gathered her books. "I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight." Harry watched her leave and then turned to Ron.

"Cloak?" Ron asked.

"Cloak." Harry nodded.

**TBC:**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: A little angst for father and son but it doesn't last long =)**

Harry and Ron waited until the common room was empty before getting under Harry's invisibility cloak and sneaking out, making their way to Hagrid's hut.

"I can't believe Hagrid got expelled." Ron said as they stopped in front of Hagrid's door and knocked.

"I know he would have never meant to hurt anyone." Harry said loyally. He pulled the cloak off of them and folded it as Hagrid opened the door.

"Who is it?" Hagrid looked nervous though he relaxed a bit when he saw Harry and Ron. "Oh. What are yer two doing here? It's after curfew!"

"We know but we needed to talk to you." Harry said. "We wanted to know about when you were expelled before. Did it have anything to do with the chamber of secrets?"

"Get in here!" Hagrid ushered them in as he glanced around nervously. He shut the door. "Yer two shouldn't be out after curfew, it's dangerous."

"Why? What do you know?" Harry asked. "We know you would have never meant to hurt anyone Hagrid."

Hagrid looked sad. "I didn't." He insisted. "I-"Another knock on the door stopped him and his eyes widened. "Git under yer cloak boys!" He whispered.

Harry and Ron backed away and covered themselves with the invisibility cloak. Once they disappeared from sight, Hagrid opened the door. "Evening Headmaster, Minister. How can I help yer this evening?"

"That's my Dad's boss Cornelius Fudge!" Ron whispered to Harry.

Cornelius Fudge sighed. "Horrible business Hagrid. Simply horrible. I suppose you have heard about the second student that was petrified tonight?"

Harry and Ron had to stifle a gasp.

"Yes." Hagrid's voice sounded shaky.

"I'm afraid the ministry needs to take action Hagrid. Once word gets out, parents and students will be scared out of their minds." Fudge said with his tone regretful. "You will need to come with me."

"I didn't do anything." Hagrid protested.

"I would like it made known that I stand behind Hagrid one hundred percent." Dumbledore said firmly.

"I know Albus, but this simply must be done. I'm sorry Hagrid." Fudge said.

"Are yer taking me to Azkaban?" Hagrid asked fearfully.

"It is only as a precaution. If we find out someone else is responsible, you will be released immediately." Fudge tried to assure him.

"Ahh, here you all are." A sneering voice said. Lucius Malfoy entered the hut, looking around in distaste.

"Get outta my house!" Hagrid said furiously.

"Please do not think I take any joy being in your…house you call it?" Lucius smirked. He turned his silver eyes to Dumbledore. "I've been looking for you Headmaster."

"Oh?" Dumbledore's voice was guarded.

"It would appear you are not doing your job. First a cat, a ghost and now two students have been attacked." Lucius voice was smug. "It has been decided to suspend you until further notice. I have the paperwork here."

"I do not think that is necessary Lucius." Fudge protested.

"You can't get rid of the Headmaster! Without him the students won't have a chance!" Hagrid argued.

"I can and I have." Lucius smiled nastily. "Effective immediately."

"Without Professor Dumbledore students will start being killed!" Hagrid continued to protest even as Fudge began to usher him out.

"Really? That would be awful wouldn't it?" Lucius continued to look smug.

Hagrid took a deep breath. "If anyone was looking for anything important, all they would have to do is follow the spiders. Yup. That's all I have to say." He left the hut followed by Fudge, Dumbledore and Lucius.

Harry threw off the cloak as soon as the door closed. "I can't believe it!"

"Poor Hagrid." Ron said his eyes wide. "And now they have gotten rid of Dumbledore!"

"I wonder who else was petrified." Harry said shakily. Things had just gotten worse. Suddenly what Hagrid said registered. He looked around frantically and noticed a trail of spiders going out the window. "There! Let's go!"

"We're really going to follow the spiders?" Ron squeaked out, his face pale.

"Yeah, Hagrid said to. Come on!" Harry hissed, grabbing Ron's arm to get him walking. They got outside right behind the trail of spiders and threw the cloak back over them.

"Why can't it be butterflies or fireflies? Or kittens? Anything but spiders!" Ron complained. "Maybe we should wait for Hermione."

"We will lose their trail if we wait!" Harry was so busy trying to usher Ron along under the invisibility cloak that he didn't see the wall until he knocked into it. "Oof!"

Harry and Ron both fell and the cloak slipped off of them. Harry looked up and gulped. The wall turned out to be his father and he looked angry.

"Exactly where do you think you two are going? Especially as it is after curfew?" Severus demanded, trying to control the anger he felt at his disobedient child. He had heard from Minerva what was happening to Hagrid and Albus and had started to patrol when he heard portraits talking about the front door opening and closing on its own. Knowing exactly what that could be about he had headed outside to see Harry and Ron come out of Hagrid hut.

"We-we came to talk to Hagrid." Harry started to explain. "They took him away! And they suspended Dumbledore and another student was petrified!"

Severus's face softened a bit. "I know, I heard."

"We were going to follow the spiders!" Ron blurted out, pointing to where they lead into the forbidden forest. He would rather get detention for life than follow those spiders!

"You were going to do what?" Severus glowered. He gave his son a glare. "You were going into the _forbidden_ forest young man?"

Harry threw Ron a nasty look before looking at his dad. "Well, Hagrid said before they took him away that if we needed answers to follow the spiders so…"

"So once again you were going to break the rules and get involved in something that does not concern you." Severus finished, crossing his arms over his chest and looming over both boys.

"It does concern me, Hagrid is my friend!" Harry protested. "All these strange things are happening and I just want to find out what is going on!" He crossed his arms in a fair imitation of his father. Ron stayed silent as he watched the showdown.

"Lower your voice." Severus scolded in a low voice. "You will watch how you talk to me Harry; you both are in enough trouble as it is. This problem is not for you to handle, the adults are investigating everything that has been going on."

"I'm the one who can hear the voice that may be a part of this." Harry said stubbornly. "_And _I'm the one Dobby has been trying to warn."

Severus gritted his teeth. "Yes, and I have told you that if you hear it you come tell me as well if you see that elf. You do not investigate and you certainly do not go into the forest! I am very disappointed in you!"

Harry's own temper faded and instead he felt horrible. He had disappointed his father again. "I'm sorry." He mumbled.

Severus nodded, glad that Harry was acting less defiant. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for both of you being out after curfew. You will also have detention with me for attempting to go into the forbidden forest." He took a deep breath. "I will also be confiscating your cloak Harry."

"What? No!" Harry held his cloak to him closely. It was his; his dad couldn't take it away! What if he needed it?

"Yes." Severus said firmly. He held out his hand and kept his face in a stern look. "Now."

Harry hesitated. He didn't want to lose his cloak! It wasn't fair!

"You have three seconds and if I do not have your cloak in my hands you will be grounded for two weeks, including no Quidditch." Severus was close to losing his patience. The child had inherited his stubborn nature and temper.

Harry handed it over with a huff, glaring at his father. Severus glared right back and Harry wilted a bit. He was no match for his dad's glares.

"You will get it back when I believe you can be trusted with it." Severus said as he folded the cloak. He was still angry that Albus had given Harry the blasted thing. "I will keep it safe for you."

Harry shrugged and looked away. All of the sudden he felt tired. "Can we go to our dorm now?"

"Yes. Tomorrow after dinner both of you report to my classroom for your detention." Severus said. He wondered if he should have Harry come home to talk things over but figured it would be better to wait until both of their tempers had cooled down. He led them to their dormitory. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Professor. And I-um-I'm sorry." Ron quickly disappeared into the common room.

"Night Dad." Harry said softly turning to enter the dorm.

"Harry. We will talk more tomorrow." Severus said, hating at being at odds with his son. But honestly, he had thought Harry had learned how to think before acting after the car escapade. "I'm upset because I love you, you know." He added quietly. "I'm doing my best to keep you safe."

Harry stilled and ignored the huff of impatience from the Fat Lady who was waiting and turned back to his dad. "I know. I'm sorry. I love you too." He hugged Severus and was relieved when his dad hugged him back. "Dad? Who else was petrified?"

"Colin Creevey. We'll talk more about it tomorrow. Make sure you go straight to bed." Severus said. He watched Harry enter his dorm and after the painting closed, he nodded to the Fat Lady and turned to go to his own quarters. A good night's rest was needed after tonight. And maybe a stiff drink as well.

**HPHPHPHP**

The next day in potions class Harry was quiet, fiddling with his potions tools as his Dad lectured the class. He felt partly angry that his dad had taken his cloak and wouldn't let him be a part of the investigation and partly remorseful for upsetting the man. He tapped his stirrer against his cauldron, not realizing the clanking sound it was making.

"Mr. Snape if you would mind." Severus said in a toneless voice, gesturing to his stirrer.

"Sorry." Harry muttered, dropping it and crossing his arms.

Severus narrowed his eyes at his son. Apparently Harry's temper was still going strong. He gave him a warning look and continued with his lecture.

"Geez Harry, how angry do you want him with you? We still have detention tonight!" Ron said once they were told to start on their Deflating Draughts. Hermione had flushed when he said that was what they would be brewing.

"I know that!" Harry snapped as he turned on the heat to his cauldron. "I'm angry too! He took my cloak! And he doesn't want to tell me anything!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "I forget, you are still getting used to having a parent. That is what they do Harry. They try to protect you and keep you safe. He's just being a dad!"

"Parents also get angry and punish you when you disobey." Hermione added as she put in the wood sorrel into her cauldron. "That's him being a dad too. And you two were out after curfew and about to go into the forbidden forest. What did you expect him to do when he found you?"

Harry was quiet as he stirred his ingredients. He sighed. Ron and Hermione were right of course. He was lucky they hadn't lost more points for Gryffindor or that he hadn't been taken off the Quidditch team. He was holding on to his anger because otherwise all he felt was guilt and a sense of failure. He had messed up again.

After dinner Harry and Ron reluctantly made their way to the classroom for their detention. "Gentlemen. Mr. Weasley there are vials that need to be cleaned and Mr. Snape you will be scrubbing cauldrons. Begin now." Severus said in a strict tone from his desk where he was marking papers. He watched the boys go to their tasks without saying a word. He noticed that instead of looking defiant, Harry looked remorseful. He could see the dejected hunch of his shoulders as he began scrubbing. Severus sighed and turned back to his papers. He wished he could get Harry to learn control over his impulse problem. His son needed to learn to control his emotions and recklessness now as a child otherwise the problem would be worse as he got older.

After two hours had passed Severus dismissed Ron but told Harry to stay behind. He had arranged to have a prefect walk Ron back to the tower.

"Take a seat Harry." Severus said quietly.

"Yes sir." Harry obeyed, sitting at the front table. He looked at his dad nervously.

"Colin Creevey was found petrified in the hallway but will make a full recovery once the mandrakes are ready, which should be soon. Professor McGonagall is taking over temporarily for the Headmaster and she is thinking of closing Hogwarts until we figure out what is going on." Severus told him slowly.

Harry's eyes widened. Close Hogwarts?

Severus nodded at Harry's expression. "Yes, the situation is quite more serious than we had thought. Which is why being out after curfew is extremely foolish and dangerous! You must obey the rules Harry. Even if you do not agree with them, you are the child and I am the parent."

Harry bit his lip. "I'm sorry." He offered.

"Sorry is all well and good but what is better is not doing the wrong thing in the first place." Severus said firmly. "I want to see you make better decisions Harry. I've told you before that you need to think before you act. I have also told you that you are to come to me if you believe something is wrong or if a situation concerns you."

"I know, you're right." Harry said feeling embarrassed and very young as he was scolded. "I just want all this cleared up. I'm sick of everyone thinking I'm the heir of Slytherin Dad! People keep acting like I'm evil or something. There is even a petition to get me resorted!"

Severus looked at him in surprise. "What? What petition?"

Harry shook his head. He had not meant to mention that but the stress of everything was getting to him and once more he had disappointed his father. "Never mind."

"No, you will tell me now." Severus ordered, standing up and going to stand in front of Harry.

Harry fidgeted in his seat. "A petition has been started to get me out of Gryffindor. Because I'm not a Potter and I speak Parseltongue." He gave a casual shrug trying to act like it didn't bother him.

Severus struggled to control his own temper. He had had no idea that things were still so bad for Harry. "Why did you not tell me? Do you not trust me to help you?"

Harry looked shocked. "Of course I trust you! I just didn't want to upset you."

Severus sighed in frustration. "Harry you need to learn to come to me if you have a problem. That includes even if you think it will upset me. Do you not understand? I love you and want to help you. That is what I'm here for!"

Harry felt tears fill his eyes and he looked away. "I'm sorry." Was all he could manage to say. He felt himself being pulled out of his chair and his dad's arms wrapped around him.

"I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to truly trust me." Severus said gruffly. Didn't the child understand how much he loved him? There was nothing that he would not do for his son.

"I do. Honest." Harry said into his father's robes.

"Let's test that shall we? Who started this petition?" Severus pushed Harry away from him so he could look into those emerald green eyes.

"Percy." Harry admitted, wincing at the fury on his dads face.

"That is it for Percy Weasley. He has been warned about his attitude by me, his parents, the headmaster and Professor McGonagall. His prefect badge will be taken from him if I have anything to say about it." Severus seethed. A month of detention as well. He would talk to Minerva tomorrow morning about it.

"You cannot be forced out of your house Harry, even with a petition." Severus wanted to assure his son.

Harry relaxed. "Yeah, I figured. It's just…annoying ya know?"

"I will take care of it." Severus said. "It is almost time for curfew; I will walk you back to your dorm."

"Okay. And I really am sorry Dad." Harry said again, all his previous anger gone.

"I forgive you Harry. Always." Severus assured his son, knowing that was important for Harry to know. "We will get to the bottom of everything soon Harry. It will all be alright."

Harry nodded. He hoped so because he didn't want anyone else hurt and he really didn't want Hogwarts to close. All he could do was hope things got worked out soon.

**TBC: Please review if you get a chance! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

When Harry made his way to the common room, Ron and Hermione had been waiting for him and immediately pounced on him.

"Did you get into more trouble?"

"Did he say anything about Colin or the chamber?"

Harry held his hands up. "Whoa, calm down. No I'm not in more trouble. I just got lectured a bit. And Dad said that Colin was found petrified and will recover once the mandrakes are ready." Harry paused. "He said McGonagall may close Hogwarts until everything is resolved."

If the situation hadn't been so serious Harry would have laughed at the way Ron and Hermione's mouths dropped open at the same time.

"Close Hogwarts? They can't do that!"

"We need Hogwarts. What about our final exams?"

Harry couldn't help rolling his eyes and his eyes looked around, noticing Ginny sitting in the corner looking a little confused and lost. "Ron, is Ginny still doing better?"

Ron looked in her direction and nodded. "She has seemed much better since right before Christmas break. We only just got back from home so she shouldn't be homesick or anything. Why?"

"I talked to her before break and she said she was everything was fine." Hermione added. "She has mostly seemed back to herself since we have been back."

Harry slowly walked over to Ginny and noted that she was clutching a book. "Ginny? Are you okay?"

Ginny nodded. "I think so. I feel like I am forgetting about something though. I can't really remember-." She shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter. I did lose my journal but…I think that's okay. I'm fine." She gave Harry a little smile and got up. "I just can't really remember some things before break."

Harry frowned. That sounded strange. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better now." He offered. "Maybe it was just being at a new school and too much homework?" He teased.

Ginny laughed. "Probably. There is so much to learn. I hear it gets worse in second year." She yawned. "I'm going to turn in. Goodnight Harry."

"Goodnight Ginny." Harry said. He returned to his friends and told them what she had said.

"It sounds like she has been overstressed." Hermione said. "It's overwhelming here your first year, even for someone who was raised with magic I would imagine."

"Yeah it is. I'll talk to my brothers to tell them to keep an eye on her as well, make sure she has fun here and doesn't just worry about schoolwork. Like _some_ people we know." Ron snickered, looking at Hermione.

Herminie glared at him. "I do not worry about schoolwork. Although we should really start preparing for exams. I know it is early but you can never be too prepared. I can make us a study schedule…"

Harry and Ron groaned as she continued talking.

**HPHPHPHP**

The next morning Ron reluctantly told Percy that Ginny seemed to be over stressed and was feeling confused and forgetful. He made the mistake of mentioning that she had talked with Harry the night before and that was how he knew. "That snake better leave her alone! He can't hurt her, she's a pureblood!" Percy had seethed.

"Stop being such a prat Percy! Harry was just trying to help!" Ron walked away angrily, thinking he should have talked to the twins only.

The portrait swung open and Professor Mcgonagall walked in, a serious look on her face. "Mr. Weasley." She looked at Percy. "If you would come with me please."

The Gryffindor's watched with interest as it was clear McGonagall was upset about something and for it to be directed at a prefect was surprising.

"Is there something wrong Professor?" Percy asked, looking confused as to why she would be looking at him like that.

"We need to talk Mr. Weasley. I have heard something about a petition you have going around and would like to discuss it with you." Professor McGonagall said and disappointment was clear in her voice. "Professor Snape would like to discuss it with you as well."

Percy's eyes grew wide and he paled. "I-um, okay Professor." He threw a dirty look to where Fred, George, and Ron were grinning widely.

"Follow me then." Professor McGonagall turned to the rest of the room. "For those that have signed that petition, do not think I will not be talking with you as well. I am very displeased with what I have been hearing. I expect my lions to stick together and hold each other up, not tear a fellow house member down." She left the room with Percy following her.

A low hum of voices began filling the common room and Harry was surprised to notice some looks being given his way only instead of anger or suspicion, they were of remorse.

"That was great! It's about time Percy got knocked down a peg or two." Fred said in satisfaction.

"Or five." Fred grinned. "If he gets a howler my life will be complete!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the thought. He was really relieved that McGonagall had acted like she had heard about the petition on her own instead of because Harry had told his dad about it. If they knew, he would be considered a rat and would be no better than Ron's pet familiar Scabbers!

As the trio and several other students were escorted to their Charms class Ron kept speculating what would happen with Percy. "Maybe he will –"His voice faded when he accidently knocked into Harry who had stopped. "Did you hear that?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Hear what? Are you hearing that strange voice again?" Hermione asked worriedly. Nobody noticed that the trio had stopped following the prefect and soon they were alone in the hallway.

"It's louder this time." Harry whispered as he concentrated_. Kill; kill, so hungry must kill_. Harry's eyes widened as he spun around. He could hear whatever it was but _where_ was it? Without thinking he took off down the hallway not realizing his friends were following him. I can hear it, it's here! Harry thought frantically as he turned the hallway corner and came to a halt. Nothing. There was nothing! The voice was gone as well.

"Harry?" Ron asked nervously.

"What did you hear Harry?" Hermione pressed.

"I was sure it was here, it sounded clearer than before." Harry looked around and sighed. "You two really didn't hear it? It wants to kill!"

Ron's face went white and Hermione looked a bit scared. "I don't understand why you are the only one who can hear whatever it is." Hermione said.

"Something only you can hear and is strong enough to petrify a ghost, never mind people." Ron murmured.

"You know what else I heard? Hagrid's roosters were killed." Hermione said as they turned and made their way to the charms corridor. "I know it doesn't seem to fit what's been happening but it is yet another strange thing going on."

Harry wanted to tell his dad what he had just heard but his dad was teaching and they were now late for Charms. "I need to tell my Dad what I just heard. Whatever it is, it wants to kill." Harry stopped walking and looked at his friends. "Will you tell Professor Flitwick that I will be in class soon? Just don't mention that I am hearing voices."

"No." Hermione said.

Harry stared at her. "No? Why?"

"You shouldn't be alone in the hallways so we will go with you." Hermione said and Ron nodded.

"You'll miss most of class." Harry reminded her, knowing she would hate to miss a second of any class.

Hermione bit her lip. "I'm sure Professor Flitwick will catch us up. Maybe your Dad will give us a note?"

Harry nodded and they went down to the dungeons and stood in front of the potions door. "Er, go ahead mate." Ron said. Professor Snape may be Harry's dad and even spent Christmas at his house but he was not going to risk his health by interrupting the man's class!

Harry hesitated and then knocked. A moment later Severus opened the door, a frown on his face which changed to a look of worry when he saw who it was. "Harry?"

"I need to talk to you." Harry said quietly, aware that the fourth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had turned to watch them.

"Now? You are supposed to be in class." Severus said his face now firm. "Why can it not wait?"

"It um concerns something you told me to tell you about if it happened again." Harry said, trying to be discreet. He didn't need it known that the boy-who-lived-to-really-be-a-Snape was hearing voices!

Understanding flashed in Severus's eyes. "I see. You three wait here, I will be out in a moment." He turned back to the class and left instructions to continue working and left one of the Ravenclaws to watch over everyone. Thankfully these houses didn't fight each other so he did not anticipate any problems.

Severus stepped into the hallway and shut the class door behind him. "Tell me what happened." He said to his son.

"We were walking to class with everyone else and I heard the voice again. It was louder than before but there was nothing there." Harry replied looking at his dad with clear worry in his emerald eyes.

Severus was perplexed. Why did this voice only affect Harry? "Did it actually say anything?" He asked in a calm voice.

"Yes. It said it wanted to kill and was hungry." Harry answered.

Severus's eyes widened. This situation was getting more serious by the day. "And the two of you did not hear anything?" He asked already knowing the answer.

Ron and Hermione shook their heads.

Severus put a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed gently. "We will figure this out Harry. I am pleased that you came straight to me, even if you are supposed to be in class." He gave Harry a smile so that he knew he wasn't mad about it. It actually made him feel good that Harry came to him with his problem instead of keeping to himself. "I will inform Professor McGonagall of what you heard; she will be able to get in contact with the Headmaster. Even though he is not here does not mean he has stopped looking into it. One of his favorite things to say is that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

Harry smiled ruefully. That sounded cryptic and very much like Dumbledore.

Severus led the three of them to their Charms class. "Professor, what happened with my brother?" Ron asked curiously.

Severus smirked a bit. "He has been dealt with. I am sure you will hear all about it later in your tower."

Ron perked up and even Hermione had a smile on her face at the thought. Harry gave his dad a grateful look. Having an adult, a parent, help him with his problems was a very nice feeling. It was still hard for him to not to handle things by himself like he was used to doing but he was learning.

Severus spoke quietly with Professor Flitwick who nodded and told the trio to take their seats, not making any mention of them being late. Severus nodded slightly to Harry and then went back to his own class.

"Where were you guys?" Neville asked quietly while Professor Flitwick continued his lecture.

"I had to tell my Dad something." Harry said vaguely as he took his notebook out of his bag.

"Shh!" Hermione said as she scribbled in her notebook, her focus on the lecture.

After class Hermione looked at Neville. "May I see your notes for the first half of class?"

"Uh, sure." Neville handed her his notes with a blush.

Hermione glanced at the chicken scratch that basically made no sense. With a sigh she handed it back to Neville. "On second thought, I'll just ask Professor Flitwick. Thank you anyway."

Neville nodded and said ruefully, "Maybe I can borrow your notes then."

Hermione smiled at him while Ron and Harry laughed.

After classes were done Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in the common room. Hermione was pouring over some old texts and Ron and Harry were playing chess.

"You've definitely gotten better." Ron commented as he stared at the board.

"Not enough though." Harry said with a good natured smile as Ron once again beat him.

"Did little Ronnie win yet another game?" Fred asked, dropping to sit beside the trio.

"Shocking. He must cheat." George ducked his head to avoid being hit by Ron. "Kidding little brother."

"So have you heard about Percy? Because we did!" Fred said gleefully.

"What? What happened to him?" Ron asked eagerly and Hermione looked up from her books to listen.

"Well, we heard from very reliable sources-"

"That his prefect badge has been taken away from him-"

"And he has detention for a month! Mr. 'I must follow all the rules Percy' has detention!"

Ron's mouth dropped open. "Wow!"

Hermione nodded. "He deserves it. As a prefect he should have known to act better than he did. He is supposed to be an example to others!"

"He has been. Many of them followed his example." Harry said shortly. He was glad Percy wasn't getting away for how he acted or starting that petition but he wondered if this would make Percy and others just hate him more.

Apparently not because several Gryffindor's who had sided with Percy came up to him throughout the evening to apologize. They seemed sincere and Harry felt like a weight had been lifted off him. He had not seen Percy because according to his dorm mates he was hiding up in his room, too embarrassed to come out.

**TBC:**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

When Harry slid into his seat at breakfast he looked to the head table and saw his dad in what looked like a deep conversation with McGonagall. He wondered if they were discussing what Harry had heard yesterday.

"So Snape, are you going to petrify any students today?" Came Draco's conceited voice.

Harry turned and saw Malfoy walking by with his goons Grabbe and Goyle. "Sod off Malfoy." Harry replied, turning his back on the Slytherin. "If I could actually petrify anyone don't you think it would be you?"

"Hey, I heard there was a petition going around about you. Can I sign it?" Malfoy continued, ignoring what Harry had said and sharing a smirk with his friends.

Ron scowled. "Why would you want to sign a petition to kick Harry out of Gryffindor?"

Malfoy pretended to look surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it was a petition to kick him out of school." He and his friends laughed and walked to the Slytherin table.

"I hate that snake." Ron muttered.

"He's a nasty piece of work, that's for sure." Harry agreed as he took a sip of pumpkin juice. "Right Hermione?"

"Hmm?" Hermione said absently as she looked through a large text book.

"Earth to Hermione." Harry teased. "What homework assignment is so interesting this time?"

"I'm trying to figure out what you have been hearing." Hermione closed her book in frustration. "It's got to be related to what's been happening around school right? I mean you heard some strange voice right before the first message. If we can find out what you are hearing then maybe it will lead us to what is really going on."

Harry nodded. "True. My dad says to leave it to the adults but there can't be anything wrong with researching right?"

Hermione nodded in approval. "Exactly. It's not like we are going to rush off into danger or anything. But it can't hurt to help gather information."

Ron sighed as he finished off his bacon. "Why do I have a feeling that we are going to be in the library during our free time?"

"Because that is where we will be Ronald." Hermione smiled brightly at him and laughed when he glared.

The owl post came, delivering to different students' letters and packages from home. A familiar looking owl came for the Gryffindor table and everyone was shocked when a red envelope was dropped in front of Percy.

Harry saw the twins look eagerly at Percy, equal looks of anticipation on their faces.

**Percy Weasley! How dare you shame the family with your disgraceful behavior! We expected better of you young man! You had better shape up and soon or your father and I will bring you straight home! And Harry, please accept our apologies for Percy's actions.**

Percy stared in shock as the envelope burned right in front of him. His face turned red with embarrassment and he quickly gathered his things and rushed out of the great hall, though not without throwing Harry a look of deep hatred as he went.

Harry was taken slightly aback. Percy dislike of him just kept getting stronger and Harry didn't understand it. The rest of the Gryffindors were back to treating him normally now. And although there were still some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs that regarded him with suspicion, most had come around by now. The Slytherins still treated him with disdain but that was normal. Harry just couldn't understand why Percy didn't come around and why he continued to be so hostile to him.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Fred sighed in happiness.

"I never thought I'd see the day. We will remember this forever Gred." George said solemnly.

"We sure will Forge."

Ginny giggled at her brother's antics.

Ron was laughing as well. "I bet Mum thought she would never have to send a howler to Percy!"

"Hopefully with losing his prefect badge and now the howler he will finally stop being such a prat." Hermione remarked. When her friends just stared at her she sighed. "I've been hanging around you two too long."

Harry laughed. No matter what, his friends could always cheer him up and make him laugh.

**HPHPHPHP**

After classes were done the trio spent some time in the library researching. Hermione was becoming increasingly frustrated when she couldn't find anything that explained what was going on. She was determined though and she and Ron stayed in the library while Harry had to leave for Quidditch practice. He ran to his dorm to get his broom and saw Percy in the common, frantically writing in what looked like a journal.

Harry hesitated. He really did want to resolve things with Percy as he cared about the Weasley family and didn't like being at odds with any of them. "Hi Percy. What are you writing?" He asked politely.

Percy looked up and his eyes seemed glazed over. "Go away Potter." He growled.

Harry looked at him in concern. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Get away from me! You're evil! A dark wizard in training!" Percy got up and glared fiercely at Harry. "We're going to stop you though. We will!"

Harry was confused. "We? Who are you talking about?" He glanced down and saw a name on the journal. Tom M. Riddle. "Percy-"

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away!" Percy stomped away and headed out of the tower.

Harry didn't know what to think. That weird look in Percy's eyes, maybe he was sick? He also wondered why Percy would be writing in someone else's journal. Harry grabbed his Quidditch equipment aware he was late for practice. He would go to his quarters after dinner and let his dad know about Percy's strange behavior.

**HPHPHPHP**

"It was weird Dad. He had this strange look in his eyes and kept saying 'we will stop you'." Harry told his dad after dinner. They had been playing chess when Harry brought up his encounter with Percy.

"That is strange." Severus said slowly. Perhaps Poppy should look at the boy.

"And the diary he was writing in had someone else's name on it." Harry continued as he made a guess on the board. "Tom somebody. Riddle. Yeah, Tom Riddle." He stared in shock as he dad stood up suddenly.

"Are you sure about this Harry? The name was Tom Riddle?" Severus asked urgently.

Harry nodded as he remembered. "Yes. Tom M. Riddle. Why? Do you know him?"

Severus's mind was racing. He needed to talk to Minerva and Albus needed to come back immediately.

"Dad?" Harry asked worriedly. "What's going on? Tell me please?"

Severus put his hands on Harry's shoulders. "Voldemort's real name is Tom Riddle. Percy has his hands on a very dangerous book. I'm going to go to the tower and see if I can get it from him."

"I want to come with you." Harry said. When his dad hesitated he looked at him pleadingly. "Please Dad?"

Severus sighed but nodded. "All right but you will do exactly what I say, all right? And you will let me deal with Percy."

Harry nodded and followed his dad into the hallway.

"Severus! I was just coming to get you!" Professor McGonagall called to him from near the Gryffindor stairs. Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout were with her. "Something awful has happened!"

"What now?" Severus asked in frustration.

Not seeing Harry standing behind Severus Professor McGonagall continued. "A student has been taken!"

Harry's eyes widened. He looked past McGonagall and saw a message written on the wall behind her. _His body will lie in the chamber forever._

Severus stared at the wall. "Who was taken?" He asked quietly thinking he knew the answer. Minerva's answer confirmed what he had suspected.

"Percy Weasley is the only student unaccounted for. I've run roll call on all the houses." Professor McGonagall said sadly. Her eyes widened slightly. "Unless...Harry is in your quarters still, correct?" She then noticed Harry standing behind his dad and visibly relaxed. "Oh, good. Mr. Snape what are you doing out here? You should either stay in your quarters or be in the tower."

"We were on our way to see Percy." Harry said in a wobbly voice. Despite how Percy had been acting he didn't want anything bad to happen to him. And the Weasley's, they would be devastated if something happened to their son.

"It would seem Percy has his hands on a dark artifact." Severus told McGonagall. He glanced at the wall. "I was on my way to retrieve it from him though it appears I am too late."

McGonagall looked weary. "This is the end of Hogwarts. We need to start sending the students home before more students are taken. They need to be ready to leave on the morning train. We also need to form a search party for Percy Weasley."

"I'm going to take Harry to his tower and then I will help you." Severus said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder and gently pushing him forward. "You will stay in your tower until I come and get you." He instructed his son as they went up the staircase.

"I want to help! I should be doing something!" Harry protested.

Severus stopped walking and bent down to look his son in the eyes. "You will help by staying in the tower. I cannot help look for Percy if I am worried about you." He said firmly.

Harry nodded reluctantly and once they climbed the stairs, Harry said the password and the portrait opened. "Will you be okay?" Harry asked with a worried look.

Severus squeezed his shoulder. "I will be fine. Stay here and do not say anything yet to the other students. We do not want them to panic."

Harry nodded and went into the common room and immediately started looking for his friends. He did not have to look long as Ron and Hermione practically pounced on him and dragged him to the corner of the room where they could talk privately.

"Harry we think we figured it out!" Ron whispered loudly. "Well, okay Hermione did. But we think we know what the monster is!"

"Hush Ronald!" Hermione hissed, looking around to make sure no one else heard. She then took out a large book and pointed to a page. "The voice you have been hearing is a Basilisk Harry! I'm sure of it! That's why only you can hear it! It's a snake!"

"A huge killer snake." Ron looked at the drawing in the book and shuddered.

"There's more. Spiders flee before it and a rooster crow can kill it! You and Ron saw spiders fleeing to the forest and Hagrid's roosters were killed!" Hermione said excitedly. "It kills using its eyes. If you look into the basilisk eyes you die."

"But no one has died yet." Harry pointed out. At least I hope they haven't, Harry thought. He read over the page with the information.

Hermione hesitated. "True. But-but maybe no one looked it in the eyes exactly!" She said as her mind raced.

Harry thought that over. "There was water on the floor when I found Mrs. Norris petrified." He said slowly.

Ron rolled his eyes. "What does that have to do with anything? You think she saw its reflection or something?" He chuckled.

Harry and Hermione stared at each other for a moment. "Ron that's it!"

"You're brilliant Ron!"

Ron stared at them. "Huh? I was kidding!"

"No it makes sense." Hermione insisted. "Mrs. Norris saw its reflection in the water and Colin Creevy probably saw it through his camera lens! He was found with his camera beside him!"

"And Justin and nearly headless nick?" Ron asked.

"Maybe Justin saw it through Nick?" Harry suggested.

Hermione nodded eagerly. "And Nick couldn't die again. He probably saw it straight on and got most of the impact but since he's a ghost…" She shrugged.

Harry began to get excited. "You're brilliant Hermione! Now we just need to tell my Dad! And figure out where the chamber is. The sooner the better!"

"Why?" Hermione gave him an accessing look. "Did something else happen?"

Harry looked away. How could he tell Ron his brother had been taken by the Basilisk? Besides, his dad didn't want him telling anyone yet.

"Come on mate. If you know something you gotta tell us." Ron said, crossing his arms.

Hermione frowned. "Would this have anything to do with Professor McGonagall taking roll call?"

"Oh yeah! Harry, Percy is not here. He is probably going to get into even more trouble!" Ron said gleefully.

Harry fidgeted for a second. "Percy is in trouble. But you need to try and keep calm Ron."

Ron's eyes widened. "Why just me?"

"A student has been taken into the Chamber." Harry whispered. "Ron, the student is Percy."

Ron's freckled face paled. "What? No, he's just off hiding somewhere." He insisted and began looking around the room. "I'll prove it; I bet someone has seen him recently!" He rushed off.

Hermione looked scared and shocked. "Oh no Harry, are you sure?"

Harry told her about the message written on the wall and how Hogwarts would be closing. "They are trying to find the chamber to save Percy but if they haven't found it by now I doubt they will." At least in time, Harry thought sadly. "There is one more thing. I saw Percy writing in a diary with the name Tom Riddle on it. I told my Dad and he said Tom Riddle is Voldemort's real name!"

Hermione paled and began frantically looking through her notes. "Okay so there has been only one victim of the basilisk. The student who died fifty years ago."

"Where did she die?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. I only know about it from the gossip that Neville told us." Hermione replied. Her eyes lit up. "Gossip! Lavender is the biggest gossip in Gryffindor!" She waved Lavender over from where she was talking with Parvati.

"What?" Lavender asked after she walked over to them, looking from Harry to Hermione.

"We were wondering what you had heard about the student who died fifty years ago." Hermione stated.

"We figured if anyone knew it would be you. You seem to know everything about everything." Harry added figuring a little flattery couldn't hurt.

It appeared to work. Lavender smiled proudly. "That's true. It's because I'm such a good listener." She told them, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

Hermione coughed a laugh into her hand.

Harry nonchalantly nudged her while keeping a smile on his face for Lavender. "Do you know anything about the student?"

Lavender nodded smugly. "It was a girl and she was found in the bathroom!"

"Bathroom?" Hermione looked thoughtful.

"Yeah, the one on the first floor just above the Great Hall. You could always ask that crazy ghost that lives in there." Lavender said before drifting off back to her friends.

"Crazy ghost?" Harry repeated.

"She means Moaning Myrtle. She, well, cries a lot and gets her feelings hurt very easily. She is always flooding the bathroom so no one ever goes in there." Hermione said slowly. "I've been in there once and she wears a school uniform so she must have died when she..." Hermione locked eyes with Harry. Both of their eyes widened.

"We need to talk to her. Right now. Where's Ron?" Harry looked for his friend.

Hermione pointed. "There." She got Ron's attention from where he was talking with Ginny and he came over looking frightened.

"No one has seen him since earlier today." Ron said shakily. Hermione patted him soothingly on the arm.

"Ron, do you remember seeing Percy write in a diary?" Hermione asked.

"Um, I don't know. I haven't been paying much attention to him lately." Ron said looking guilty.

"It looks like Percy has been writing in a diary that belonged to you-know-who." Hermione told him, her tone gentle yet serious.

"What? He wouldn't do that! How would he have even gotten it in the first place?" Ron protested.

"I don't know but we believe we may be close to getting all the answers. The student who died fifty years ago is a ghost here in the castle. We are going to go talk to her." Harry told him.

Ron nodded determinedly. "Right. Let's go!"

"Wait." Harry closed his eyes for a moment. "We aren't supposed to leave the tower.'

"Harry, I know he is a git but Percy is my brother!" Ron looked at Harry imploringly.

Harry nodded. "I know Ron. Okay, one of us needs to get my dad or McGonagall and tell them what we know."

"I want to go and talk to the ghost." Ron said firmly.

Hermione sighed. "I'll go tell a teacher. Remember, her name is Myrtle and she is very sensitive. If you get her started crying, you won't get anything out of her."

"Got it." Harry opened the portrait and the trio hurried downstairs. "Hurry Hermione." Harry called over his shoulder as he and Ron began racing to the corridor. They didn't have a moment to lose.

**TBC:**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Happy New Year! =)**

"I just don't understand how Percy could have gotten You-Know-Who's diary!" Ron said breathlessly as he and Harry ran down to the first floor corridor.

"I have no idea! Someone had to have put it where he could find it right?" Harry and Ron turned the corner and stopped right in front of the girl's lavatory.

They entered slowly and found that the bathroom appeared to be empty. "Do we have the wrong one? No one is here!" Ron said impatiently.

"Oh of course I'm considered a no one!" The ghost of a young girl with glasses and pigtails floated out of a stall and hovered over them. "What are you doing in here? You're boys!" Her voice was whiny.

"Duh." Ron muttered.

Myrtle glared at him. "This is a _girl's_ lavatory. I'm sick of boys coming in here! It's my lavatory!" She began to wail.

"Myrtle, has there been another boy in here?" Harry asked hurriedly. "We are trying to find our friend and think you could be of great help to us."

Myrtle stopped crying and gazed at Harry. "Really? You want my help?" Her voice was shy and she gave him a small smile. "You're a nice boy. Not like your friend or the other red-head who came in here earlier."

Harry and Ron exchanged looks. "What other red-head?" Harry asked.

Myrtle shrugged as she floated above them. "I don't know his name. He wouldn't talk to me at all. Not even when I yelled at him to leave!" Her eyes filled with ghostly tears. "I either get ignored or made fun of for my glasses!"

"That was very rude of him. Um, my name is Harry and this is Ron." Harry said, hoping to get on her good side. "I used to wear glasses too." He offered.

"Hi Harry. Ooh, you used to wear glasses like me?" Myrtle said in a simpering voice as she completely ignored Ron. "I get made fun of for my glasses. Did you?"

"When I was younger I did." Harry admitted. He could tell Ron was about to explode from the waiting so he added quickly. "Myrtle, may we ask how you died? I know it's personal."

Myrtle smiled brightly. "Oh I don't mind telling _you _Harry! I was in here crying because some horrible girls had been making fun of me. I heard a noise and went to tell whoever it was to go away! But when I turned around, I died."

Harry thought quickly. She died in here and it was instantaneous. "Do you know whereabouts you looked when you…died?" This is the weirdest conversation, Harry thought.

Myrtle started floating away. "By the sinks, I think. Will you come visit me again Harry?"

"Oh brother." Ron grumbled and followed Harry to the sinks. "These are just ordinary sinks."

Harry didn't answer right away. He was staring at the engraved snake on the tap. Could it be? He took a deep breath and concentrated on the snake. "Open up." He hissed.

"What are you-"Ron's eyes grew big when the sink began to move. The sink moved back and lowered revealing a large pipe. A very large pipe that was big enough for a person to slide through.

"Blimey." Ron breathed as they stared down into the entrance of the chamber. "You did it Harry! You found the Chamber of Secrets!"

Harry ran his hand through his hair. He knew they had to hurry. "Okay, you stay here and show my Dad the entrance. I'm going to head down there now."

"You can't go alone." Ron protested.

Before Harry could argue another voice joined them. "I agree with Mr. Weasley."

Harry and Ron turned and saw Hermione standing with Professor Snape.

Severus's eyes were dark and serious as they accessed the situation. "You were told to stay in the tower." He said sternly to his son.

"Hermione figured out it was a Basilisk and then we knew the answers were here with Moaning Myrtle and Dad, the entrance to the Chamber is here!" Harry gestured to where the sink had been. "We need to go get Percy!"

"Yes I certainly do. You three will stay here and wait for the rest of the Professor's." Severus said as he cast a Patronus. The doe galloped gracefully away.

"Dad I need to go too!" Harry said, not wanting his dad to go alone.

"No Harry." Severus said shortly as he took off his robes. He rolled his sleeves up and then tucked his wand into one arm sleeve.

"The entrance only opened because of my Parseltongue." Harry insisted, knowing he was pushing his luck with his Dad's temper but not caring at the moment. "What if you need Parseltongue to continue?'

Severus frowned. Harry had a point.

Thinking his dad was going to still refuse him, Harry took a momentary leave of his senses and without warning, jumped into the large pipe that led into the chamber.

"Harry!" Severus yelled as Ron and Hermione gasped. "You two stay here and wait for the Professor's." He snarled at the two remaining Gryffindors and then jumped in after his foolhardy son.

**HPHPHPHP **

It was like riding a large slide. Harry swirled down and then landed with a thump, only just managing to stay on his feet and not fall over. It was pitch black and Harry fumbled for his wand and cast a lumos. He walked a few steps, his shoes making crunching noises as he moved.

Harry heard another thump and turned to see his Dad emerging from the pipe. "Harry?"

"Dad!" Harry went over to his father who grabbed him and gave him a brisk shake.

"What were you thinking, you foolish child? You had no idea what could have greeted you when you slid down!" Severus scolded, his heart hammering and not from the ride down.

"You weren't going to let me come." Harry said lamely. He looked up into his Dad's eyes which were gazing at him with disapproval.

"Actually I was." Severus countered, letting go of Harry's shoulders and standing up tall with his arms crossed.

Harry gulped a little as his Dad loomed over him. "You were? I thought-'

"You didn't give me a chance to tell you before you jumped into a dangerous situation. Literally." Severus glared at him. "How many times have I told you to trust me?"

Harry looked down, feeling ashamed. He had been so sure his Dad would leave him behind. "I'm sorry. I wanted to come with you and I didn't want you to come down here alone."

Severus let out a frustrated breath. "You are the child and I am the adult. You need to trust and obey my decisions Harry. Now, we have no time to discuss this right now but I assure you we will be discussing it later."

"Yes sir." Harry said quietly. His Dad put a hand on his shoulder and together they began walking down the long shadowy chamber.

"What are we walking on?" Harry asked as they both crunched as they walked.

Severus looked down. "It would appear to be bones." He said in a tense voice. His hand tightened protectively on Harry. They kept walking until they were stopped by a large door, with two snakes carved about it. Severus tried Alohomora to no avail. He looked down at his son and gave a nod.

"Open." Harry hissed and the door immediately opened.

"Stay by my side and if I tell you to run, you run." Severus said as they moved into the dark room. The room had a greenish glow which gave the dark dank place more of an eerie feeling. They stopped when they saw an extremely tall statue. "Who is that of?" Harry wondered aloud.

"I believe it is Salazar Slytherin." Severus answered tersely, his wand held tightly in his hand.

"Dad, there's Percy!" Harry pointed across the room where Percy was lying unconscious on the floor. They both hurried over and kneeled down next to him. Severus was running a diagnostic. He frowned.

"What is wrong with him?" Harry asked as he looked at the boy who had ridiculed him all year. All he felt was sadness however as Percy was pale and shivering.

"He's fading but I do not know why." Severus murmured. "He has no wounds except being exhausted and weak. Something is draining him."

"The Basilisk?" Harry asked.

"It will not come until it is called."

Severus and Harry both whipped their heads around to see a teenage boy standing near the statue. He appeared to be several years older than Harry.

Severus stood up and stood in front of Harry. "Who are you?" He demanded.

The boy smirked. "You don't know? My, how could I have possibly been deceived by such clueless man as you?"

Severus stiffened. "Tom Riddle."

Harry's eyes widened. Standing in front of them was the teenage killer of his mother. He looked back down at Percy who looked even paler and whose breathing was growing shallower. The diary lay next to him.

"Percy's been writing in your diary." Harry said turning back to look at Percy. "Dad, he's getting worse."

"Don't worry, he's not dead. Yet." Tom drawled. He circled Severus and Harry. "Since we have some time there are a few things I would like to clarify." He smiled eerily. "See, why young Percy grows weaker I grow stronger. He will die and I will return. This time for good."

"What is he? A ghost?" Harry whispered to his dad.

Severus shook his head, not taking his eyes off Tom. "No, not a ghost. I'm not sure…" His gaze traveled to where the diary lay and his eyes narrowed in thought.

Tom nodded knowingly. "Ahh, a Slytherin mind at work. I am a memory, preserved in a diary for fifty years. That is about to change however. Thanks to two foolish red heads who thought writing in a diary that wrote back was a safe thing to do."

"Two red-heads?" Harry repeated curiously. He edged closer to his dad.

Tom retained his smug look. "Yes. The first was a lonely little girl. She liked pouring out her heart to me and telling me all I wanted to know."

"Ginny." Harry breathed, remembering how before Christmas she had appeared so upset.

"I was able to possess her and make her do my bidding.' Tom continued, clearly proud of himself. "Unfortunately the students attacked were only petrified but I will soon be able to take care of that of course. The little girl got scared and hid me but then Percy here found me and started writing. He was upset so I pretended to care and it turns out he was worried about a certain Harry Potter now turned Snape who he believed to be turning dark." Tom chuckled.

"I would imagine you fed that worry." Severus said coolly as pieces of Percy's behavior began to make sense.

Tom gave a pleased smile. "Why yes I did. Percy was practically going insane thinking Harry was out to be a dark wizard. It was especially fun to make him believe Harry was targeting his family." His eyes narrowed in on Harry. "Between the two I was able to find out all sorts of information. And now that I have answered some of your questions you can answer one of mine." He took a step towards Harry, laughing as Severus pushed Harry back and pointed his wand at him. "I am a memory Professor; there is nothing you can do to me." He tilted his head to the side. "Now how is it that a mere baby defeated the most powerful wizard of all time?"

"You mean Albus Dumbledore? Harry never defeated him." Severus said with his own smirk.

Tom narrowed his eyes. "Dumbledore has left simply at the mere memory of me."

"Dumbledore will never be gone as long as there are those who are loyal to him!" Harry added.

Tom shook his head. "It is time to end this. I can feel myself getting stronger." He turned around and began hissing. Harry could understand though.

"He's calling the Basilisk Dad. He's telling it to obey its Master and…." Harry grabbed his dad's hand. "And that there is food here for it."

They both watched in horror as the Basilisk, thick as an oak, slithered out of the mouth of the Salazar Slytherin statue. It was at least fifty feet long!

"Don't look into its eyes!" Harry said to his dad. The Basilisk slithered towards them surprisingly fast for being so big and Severus, still holding Harry's hand, pulled him along as they ran around a corner. "Harry, go back the way we came. The door leading in here may have shut and will need you to open it again to let the other Professor's in." Severus said quickly. He noticed the shadow of the Basilisk getting closer and pushed Harry ahead. "Go son!"

Harry hesitated. He didn't want to leave his Dad and Percy but there was nothing more he could do to help. "A rooster crow is fatal to the Basilisk." He told his father.

Severus's eyes widened and he nodded. "Thank you Harry. Go now!"

Harry began to run but was stopped by Tom Riddle himself. "I cannot wait until everyone knows that the boy-who-lived was nothing compared to Lord Voldemort." Tom said in a menacing voice.

"Whatever you say _Tom_!" Harry shot back. "Does it make you feel important to pick such a pathetic name?"

Tom glared at the child. "It is a name feared by all! After all, it's not like I would keep my filthy muggle father's name. Instead I invented a name that is respected by all!"

"Respected?" Harry snorted, wondering if he was in shock to be talking like this. "My Dad is respected. Dumbledore is respected. You are nothing but a bad memory!"

Tom roared in anger and advanced on Harry but was interrupted by Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, flying into the chamber.

"Fawkes!" Harry cried, wondering what the Headmaster's familiar was doing here. He turned to call to his dad and saw him chanting a spell with both hands holding his wand. His Dad then, with his eyes averted, pointed the wand at the Basilisk which was coming for him and the loud piercing cry of a Rooster flooded the chamber. The Basilisk let out a loud cry and began throwing itself from side to side, hitting the walls and pillars. It continued to shriek and jerk around until suddenly it fell to the ground, completely silent and unmoving.

"No!" Tom cried in anger.

The walls began to cave in and pillars began to fall. "Run Harry!" Severus yelled. He moved towards Percy to grab him but several piles of stone and wood fell on him before he could reach the still unconscious Gryffindor.

"Dad!" Harry screamed. He ran towards his dad whose legs were trapped and his eyes closed. "Dad, wake up!"

"Serves him right." Tom sneered. "It's only fitting as he killed my pet. Now it's your turn Snape! But don't worry. Soon you will be with your mudblood mother and-"He glanced down at Severus. "Your father by the looks of it."

Harry was beyond angry and scared. He didn't know if his dad was still alive or not. He put his hand on the side of his dad's neck and was relieved to see he was still alive. He didn't notice that Tom had wandlessly made a Basilisk fang fly towards him and pierce his arm. Harry cried out with pain and surprise.

Tom laughed. "See? I am almost at my full strength. It won't be long now boy."

Without even realizing why he was doing it, he grabbed the fang of the Basilisk that had pierced him and opened the diary.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked, not sounding too concerned. He glared as the Phoenix circled around him.

Severus slowly opened his eyes and focused in horror on his son, whose arm was bleeding. "Harry!"

Harry didn't answer and instead stabbed the fang into the diary. When he heard Tom scream, he stabbed it again. The book began to glow and Harry could see that Tom was becoming transparent.

"No!" Tom looked in shock as the diary glowed brighter and pulled him back into it. The diary then shut itself.

Harry held his arm and he crawled to his dad. "Dad, are you okay?" He whispered.

Severus tried to push himself up but couldn't do too much as he was still trapped under rubble. "Harry, your arm!"

Harry was feeling dizzy as he looked down at his arm. "Venom." He heard a noise and saw Percy was sitting up, looking confused and scared. "It's okay Percy. It's nothing more than a memory now." Harry then fainted and didn't feel the Phoenix land next to him and begin to cry tears into his wound.

**TBC:**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews!**

Harry woke up disoriented. He was surrounded by bright lights and after he blinked his eyes a few times he saw that he was in the infirmary. Again. "Dad?" He called as he remembered what had happened. Was his Dad okay?

"I'm right here Harry." Severus said soothingly. He was sitting next to his son's bed and began carding his hand through Harry's hair. "You're okay now."

"What about you?" Harry asked trying to sit up a bit. His Dad piled pillows behind him so that he could sit up comfortably.

"I am fine as well." Severus answered. He handed Harry a cup of water. "Sip slowly." He cautioned. "My legs were broken but Madam Pomfrey easily fixed them as the bones had not been vanished." He smirked a little.

Harry smiled in response. He looked down at his arm and saw a faint scar where the Basilisk fang had sliced him. "How am I still alive? I thought Basilisk venom was fatal." He wondered out loud.

Severus nodded seriously. "It is. Fawkes healed you. You had passed out before then."

"Oh." Harry said with a frown. "But how could Fawkes-"

"The Phoenix is a very powerful creature and its tears contain healing powers. They are also very strong. Fawkes was able to fly you, me and Percy out of the Chamber." Severus said, leaning back in his chair.

Harry's eyes widened. "Percy! Is he okay? And what about Tom Riddle?"

"Calm down Harry. Everything will be explained to you. I want Poppy to look at you first. But so you do not worry, Percy is fine and is being looked after by his parents." Severus pulled back the curtain that had been blocking Harry from seeing the other side of the room and Harry saw Percy lying propped up in a bed with his parents, the twins, Ron, Ginny and Hermione.

"Harry you're awake!" Hermione rushed over and made to hug him but then stopped herself, afraid she would hurt him. "Are you in any pain?"

Harry shook his head and Hermione grinned and hugged him hard. "We were so worried!"

"How long have I been out of it?" Harry asked, looking at his dad.

"Since we were brought here last night. It is late morning now." Severus answered. "Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick came just as Fawkes was lifting us out of the chamber."

"Oh Harry! You and Severus are heroes!" Mrs. Weasley came over and began fussing over his like she usually did. "You saved Percy! Thank you!"

Harry looked over at Percy and was surprised when he gave a nod. He said something to his father and Mr. Weasley helped him up and then Percy came over to Harry. "I just wanted to say thank you. You both saved my life and I didn't deserve for you to. I don't remember everything from the last couple weeks but I remember treating you horribly. So thank you." Percy said sincerely.

Harry looked at his dad in surprise and then grinned. "You're welcome."

Severus sighed. The boy was too forgiving. Taking a page from his son he inclined his head towards Percy. "You're welcome."

Mrs. Weasley was crying into her handkerchief. "Oh Percy, I'm so happy you are back to yourself. I still don't understand how this happened. How did you and Ginny get that diary in the first place?"

"I would like to hear the whole story myself." Dumbledore said cheerfully as he entered the infirmary. He smiled at Severus and Harry. "Glad to see you are doing well my boys. I am very proud of you!"

"You're back!" Harry said happily. His brow furrowed for a moment. "Wait, what about Hagrid?"

"He is in his hut as we speak." Dumbledore assured him. "And I have been reinstated as Headmaster. Funny thing is most of those on the committee do not remember signing a petition for me to be suspended. Curious."

Harry exchanged a look with Ron and Hermione and mouthed _Malfoy._

Ron mouthed back_, Bloody Git!_

Severus saw the exchange and simply bit his lip in an effort to not smile. "The diary?" He asked, getting the conversation back on track.

All eyes turned to Ginny and she blushed and looked away. "I-it was with my school books." She said quietly. "I don't know how it got there. I started doodling in it and the ink disappeared into the paper. It wrote back!" She looked helplessly at her parents. "I didn't know it was bad. I was homesick and it talked to me, like a friend. But then things got strange at school and there were times I couldn't remember what I had been doing."

"Haven't I lectured all of you on using artifacts you know nothing about? Especially if you can't see where it keeps its brain?" Mr. Weasley asked exasperatedly. Ginny and Percy both looked chastised at his words.

"Continue Miss. Weasley." Dumbledore said kindly.

"I hid the diary when we went home for Christmas, in our attic. I felt so much better and lighter." Ginny said still with a slight flush to her face. "I could barely remember even having it at all. It was like I was forgetting something but I didn't know what." She gave a little shrug. "I didn't think it mattered since I was feeling happier and less homesick."

Mrs. Weasley sighed and pulled Ginny to her in a hug.

"Do you remember anything the diary wrote to you?" Severus asked, thinking that had to be how Tom had known who Harry was to begin with.

Ginny tilted her head. "Kind of. I remember at first writing about school and making new friends. It asked a lot about Harry when I mentioned him." She gave a quick look to Harry and then turned away.

"And then you Percy found the diary? During Christmas break I imagine?" Severus turned his dark eyes on the tall red head.

Percy looked embarrassed. "Yes sir. I was going to hide the gifts I bought and was curious as to what the diary was. I thought it may be a gift for Ginny until I saw the name on it. So I began writing in it."

Mr. Weasley sighed.

"Continue on Percy." Dumbledore encouraged.

"I had been um, concerned about the whole Harry being a Snape thing." Percy mumbled, too embarrassed to look at Severus and Harry. "I had always heard all Slytherins were bad and since Harry was the-boy-who-lived I sort of got it in my head that if he was the son of a Slytherin then he may turn evil."

"Honestly Percy-"

"If all Slytherins were automatically evil-"

"Don't you think Hogwarts would just eliminate that house completely?"

Fred and George rolled their eyes. They actually had some friends in Slytherin and knew that a lot of the bad press they got was underserved. Most people didn't believe them though.

"We have friends in Slytherin-"

"But because of prejudice-"

"We have to be subtle about it."

"And we don't like being subtle!"

"All right boys." Mr. Weasley rolled his eyes. "Let Percy finish."

Percy took a deep breath. "I wrote my frustrations out about Harry in the diary and it said I had a right to be concerned. That Harry was evil and might even try to hurt my family." He cast an apologetic look towards Harry. "It seemed easy to believe and then like Ginny, I began losing time. And yesterday it told me I would find all the answers if I went into the Chamber. I don't remember much else except seeing a teenage boy come out of the diary and then…waking up here."

"You children were extremely foolish." Mr. Weasley told them. "And you are very lucky to be alive after all that."

"Yes it was foolish but we all make mistakes." Dumbledore interjected. "They were tricked by a very powerful object."

"Still we will be talking about this more." Mr. Weasley said as his wife nodded in agreement. She was still holding onto Ginny and Mr. Weasley put his arm around Percy. "What would we do if anything ever happened to either of you? To any of you?" He said gruffly.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." Percy whispered into his Dad's shoulder.

Harry leaned back into his own Dad, happy that everything seemed to be sorted out.

"I need to check on my patient if that is okay with you Headmaster." Poppy said briskly as she joined them. "Mr. Weasley I did not give you clearance to leave your bed. And Severus really, you should be in bed as well."

"I do believe you gave me an all clear on my injuries." Severus replied.

"Still it wouldn't hurt to get more rest after what happened." Poppy grumbled shooing Percy back to his bed and then running a diagnostic on Harry. "How do you feel Mr. Snape? Any pain?"

Harry shook his head. "No Ma'am."

Poppy nodded. "Good. Everything looks to have healed. You were extremely lucky that Fawkes was there."

"You both must have shown great loyalty to me for Fawkes to sense you needed help." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "Did I mention how proud of both of you I am?"

"Yes." Severus said slowly, his eyes on his son. "Poppy, I would like to take Harry to our quarters to recover. As long as he is healthy enough to do so?"

Poppy waved them away. "He is. Use the floo to save energy though. Just make sure both of you get a good meal and a lot of rest."

"We will." Severus promised. He helped Harry put on a dressing gown. "We will talk later Albus?"

"Of course Severus. After you have rested." Dumbledore smiled.

Severus nodded and together with his son disappeared into the green flames.

**HPHPHPHP**

After Severus got Harry settled into bed he ordered some soup and sandwiches for the both of them. He sat next to his son as they both ate.

Harry peered at him a little anxiously. "Dad? Are you mad at me?"

Severus sighed and put down his roast beef sandwich. "Honestly, I don't know exactly how I feel Harry. I feel a little of everything right now. Anger, fear, relief, and a sense of pride in you. You were very brave down in the Chamber Harry."

"So were you." Harry said softly.

Severus gave a small smile. "I was terrified down there. Seeing Voldemort even in his teenage form, was like a nightmare come true. All I could think was that I was going to lose another person I loved to that monster."

Tears filled Harry's eyes. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have jumped down there like that but you did need me down there."

"Yes, and I had already realized that. I was about to tell you so and that I was going to go first into the Chamber but you jumped ahead of me." Severus leaned forward. "Your instinct is to take charge of situations because you grew up with no one else who took charge for you. And I realize it hasn't even been a year since we found out we are Father and Son but you need to work on trusting me even if you do not agree with me. Trust me even if at the moment you don't understand what I'm doing or saying. You _can_ trust me Harry. Always."

Harry pushed his tray away and practically jumped into Severus's arms, wrapping his arms around his father's neck. "I'm sorry." He kept repeating into his dad's shoulder.

Severus tightened one arm around Harry and patted him gently on the back. "I know. And Harry, you showed great strength of character when facing Tom Riddle. I really am proud of you son."

"So does that mean I'm not in trouble?" Harry pulled back, his face brightening.

Severus snorted. "I never said that. How about this, you're not in big trouble. How is that?"

Harry made a face. "All right, I guess." He wasn't really upset though. He was lucky his dad wasn't yelling at him for all the disobeying he did yesterday. "I'm relieved Percy doesn't hate me anymore or think I'm a dark wizard in training."

Severus huffed and gestured for Harry to continue his meal. "He shouldn't have had an issue with you to begin with. But yes, I am relieved that all of this is behind us. The mandrake potion will be ready tomorrow so we will be able to revive everyone who was petrified."

"Dad, did you hear when Tom said his father was a muggle?" Harry asked. "It was when you were working on the rooster spell."

Severus raised an eyebrow in surprise. "No I didn't. That is…interesting."

"He hates muggles and muggle-borns yet he himself is a half-blood." Harry shrugged. "It doesn't make sense."

"Hate usually doesn't." Severus said with a sigh. He banished the empty plates and trays and stood up. "Would you like a little dreamless sleep? You need to catch up on your rest."

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks." Harry said. He took the offered vial and then snuggled into his bed. "I don't want to relive that experience anytime soon."

"Neither do I." Severus said quietly as he remembered seeing his son hurt in the chamber, knowing venom was running through him and that there was nothing Severus could have done to stop it. If it hadn't been for Fawkes…Severus shook his head and made sure Harry was tucked in and then went to get some sleep of his own.

**HPHPHPHP**

Harry woke up gradually several hours later. He still felt sleepy so he wondered what had woken him up. He then heard voices coming from the sitting room and got up quietly to see who was here. His eyes widened when he saw Lucius Malfoy and Dobby!

"I suppose you feel quite proud of yourself." Lucius sniffed. "Conquering the monster, that is. You and your _son_."

Severus stood tall and imposing over the aristocrat. "Why yes, I am quite proud. Is that all you wanted Lucius?"

Lucius sneered at him. "To think I once thought you were one of the most devoted of us. And to think all this time you were deceiving us! To top it all off, you are the father of that Potter brat…oh do excuse me…Snape brat!"

Severus glared at him menacingly. "Speaking of brats, would you like a report on your son's grades? Personally I feel he could be doing better." He shrugged.

"Watch yourself Snape!" Lucius hissed.

Severus rolled his eyes. "You have never scared me Lucius and you never will. Now leave."

Harry watched the standoff in fascination and then noticed Dobby pretending to write in a book, point to Lucius and then bonk himself over the head. Harry understood and remembering what his dad had told him about house-elves he went and grabbed a small empty box.

"Ahh, here is your troublesome son now." Lucius smirked.

Severus turned around in surprise. "Harry, go to your room." He said firmly.

"Okay." Harry started to turn and then stopped and faced Lucius. "Oh, Mr. Malfoy. I think this is yours." He tossed the box to Lucius.

Lucius stared at the box in disdain. "This is not mine. Why would you think it was?" He tossed the box to Dobby.

Harry grinned and then mouthed, "Open it."

Dobby opened the box and his large eyes seemed to grow even larger. "Master has given Dobby a sock!"

"What? I did not!" Lucius stared down in horror at his elf holding the sock. He glared at Harry. "You lost me my servant! If you are not careful you will meet the same end as your mother and James Potter!" He drew his wand out.

Severus did the same, standing protectively in front of Harry. Before he could cast anything Dobby waved his hand and Lucius flew out the door, hitting the wall and toppling over. "You's will not hurt Harry Snape or Harry Snape's father!" He said firmly.

Lucius got up with his face burning red in embarrassment. He glared at all of them and then turned and walked away without a word.

"Thank you Dobby!" Harry said happily. He noticed his father give him a look and his smile faded a bit. Oops.

"Thank you for your services Dobby." Severus said formally.

Dobby beamed. "Dobby is free thanks to Harry Snape! How can Dobby repay you?"

Severus's face relaxed a bit. "Don't try to save my son's life again. How about that?" His voice had a teasing lilt in it.

Dobby gave a sheepish grin and then popped away.

Severus whirled on his son. "Are you completely insane? Do you have any idea how bad that could have turned out?"

Harry threw his hands up. "I had to help Dobby! He tried to help me, in his own way. And it was Mr. Malfoy who planted the diary in with Ginny's schoolbooks! Dobby kept pointing to it and then to Mr. Malfoy. And I remember hearing that Ron's family had a run-in with him in Diagon Alley before school started!"

Severus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "That makes sense and Lucius is more than capable." He turned a stern look onto his son. "Yet once again you did not heed me. Lucius is a powerful wizard Harry."

Harry shrugged. "You are more so. Besides, I had to free Dobby! I can't imagine Mr. Malfoy is kind to his house-elves."

"No, he isn't." Severus shook his head. "Honestly you are your mother's son." He said it somewhat fondly. "Rush in and save the day. Although, that bit with the sock and box was quite sneaky. Almost Slytherin, I dare say."

Harry grinned cheekily. "What can I say? I'm also my father's son."

**TBC: Epilogue Next **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: **** I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: Thank you for your support of my Always series! I love hearing from you!**

**Epilogue:**

His father thought he was so clever, Harry thought grumpily as he cleaned vials. Yesterday his Dad had made Harry stay in bed all day. _I want to make sure you are well rested_; his father had said when Harry protested he was feeling fine. He wouldn't even let Ron and Hermione visit! _Visiting with your friends will make you too excited and then you won't be able to rest_, his father had pointed out. Harry had huffed but figured it would be just one day and he could tell his friends all about Lucius and Dobby tomorrow.

Except that tomorrow was here and Harry was still not allowed to see them! First his Dad had started in with him needing rest and when Harry insisted he was completely better and was bored, his dad had smirked.

"If you are bored then I could use your help. I have some vials that need cleaning in my lab. Due to recent events I have not been able to get to them. You wouldn't mind helping me would you?" His Dad had stared at him in a way that Harry knew better than to say no.

So Harry was now stuck cleaning vials. Thankfully he was almost done. He called that out to his father who was working on a potion. "Already? Wonderful, you can then finish cleaning those cauldrons that are sitting next to you."

Harry made a face. "But Dad-"

"I really appreciate you helping me out." Severus continued as he stirred his potion. He looked at Harry out of the corner of his eye and hid a smirk.

Harry sighed and once he was finished with the vials he began on the cauldrons. He worked until lunchtime and when he and Severus sat down to eat Harry was stretching his arms which were a little stiff from all the cleaning he had been doing.

"Are your arms sore? Would you like a muscle relaxant potion?" Severus asked with an amused gleam in his eyes.

"No I'm fine." Harry muttered as he ate his chicken salad. He looked at his Dad. "Am I going to get to see Ron and Hermione at all today?"

"I don't see why not." Severus shrugged. "Though first, I think your room could use some cleaning. And I could use some help getting my potion files in order. But after that-"

"Am I in detention all day?" Harry burst out. He looked accusingly at his dad. "I'm on to you. Cleaning vials, cauldrons, and my room and now filing? This is a punishment!"

Severus looked slightly offended. "You consider helping me out with a few tasks a punishment? I'm rather hurt."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Sneaky Slytherin." He muttered. He ignored his dad's laugh as he finished his lunch.

Two hours later after cleaning his room and helping to file, Harry was finally released to go find his friends. "They are probably all celebrating as Albus has decided to cancel all final exams." Severus told Harry.

Harry brightened. "Really? That's brilliant! Although…I bet Hermione isn't celebrating." He looked up at his dad. "So I can really go? You don't need the lab scrubbed clean or the kitchen painted?"

Severus bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Are you offering?"

Harry quickly shook his head. "No sir."

"You may go." Severus relented. "I'll see you in the great hall for dinner."

Harry smiled in relief. He gave Severus a hug. "Thanks Dad. And I really am sorry for the trouble I caused."

Severus hugged him back. "You didn't exactly cause trouble Harry. You simply made my heart need a jump start a few times. Work on listening to me and trusting me more all right? I'm always here for you."

"I know." Harry said. He waved to his dad and then sprinted out into the hall before his dad could reconsider and make him scrub the lab after all.

**HPHPHPHP**

Harry found his friends outside near the lake. Along the way he had gotten many congratulations on saving the school from the monster. It was nice to not have everyone look at him suspiciously. He felt like a weight had been lifted off of him.

"Harry! Are you feeling better? We wanted to see you yesterday but your dad said you were catching up on your rest." Hermione said when she saw him.

Harry inwardly rolled his eyes. Only his dad would find a sneaky way to ground him. "I'm fine. He was just being, um, overprotective. How are you two? How are Percy and Ginny?"

"We're fine. We didn't get into any trouble for leaving the tower to find the Chamber." Ron said happily. "I thought we would lose points or something considering how strict McGonagall is."

"I think she was just relieved that this whole chamber business is over." Hermione said as she ruffled through her charms text.

"Why are you studying? We aren't having final exams." Harry said as he plopped down next to them. He watched the squid float lazily along the lake.

Hermione's face fell. "You don't think Professor Dumbledore will change his mind about that?"

Harry and Ron laughed. "I wouldn't count on it." Harry said. He then told them about Lucius and Dobby visiting them.

"Blimey! That rotten coward!" Ron seethed. "Ginny and Percy could have died thanks to that jerk! So could you and your Dad!"

Hermione frowned. "What a horrible thing to do! I'm happy that you freed Dobby though. It is awful that the house-elves have no rights and are treated as slaves! Somebody should help them like Harry did with Dobby."

"Hermione, most house-elves like being servants. I wish our family could get one." Ron said regretfully. He noticed Hermione's glare and shrugged. "Well, it's not like someone is going to petition for them to have rights or start an organization for them or anything."

Harry interrupted them before a fight could ensue. "So Ginny and Percy are all right?"

"Yeah, they had a long talk with Mum and Dad but they are fine. I think they are just embarrassed, especially Percy. He can't believe he got involved with such a dark object." Ron said. "He's been busy apologizing to his professors and the Headmaster and everyone in our family. He'll probably apologize to you and your Dad again."

"He doesn't need to." Harry said honestly. "Once was enough."

"He's also been lecturing all the Gryffindors on not believing all the propaganda on being in Slytherin." Hermione spoke up, closing her book with a sigh. So much for the study schedules she had prepared. She leaned forward. "I heard Professor McGonagall talking to him and saying that she was really impressed with how he is taking responsibility for his behavior and he may be able to earn his prefect badge back!"

"And here we thought Lavender was the biggest gossip in Gryffindor." Harry teased. He yelped when she slugged him on the shoulder. "Blimey Hermione, you have got quite a punch."

Hermione looked satisfied.

"School is almost over, why would it matter if he got his badge back?" Ron wondered out loud.

"Well, he is probably hoping to still be eligible for Head Boy next year." Hermione answered as she pulled out Hogwarts, a History.

"Haven't your read that twice already?" Ron asked as he looked at the massive book warily.

Hermione shrugged. "There is so much information in it; you can get something new out of it with each read. And since there are no finals to study for at least this is an interesting read."

"Who is that?" Ron asked curiously where a man was standing by the entrance to the castle. He appeared to be watching the trio.

Harry turned. The man seemed to be his Dad's age and looked tired. He had on worn looking robes but he offered them a kind smile and then went into the castle. "I don't know. I don't think I've ever seen him before." He dismissed it and began talking Quidditch with Ron while Hermione read her book.

**HPHPHPHP**

"We'll need to keep an eye out for Lucius." Severus said as he finished telling him about Malfoy's visit. "He may try something like this again. Draco will need to be watched as well as Lucius may enlist his help. I wouldn't put it past him."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes I agree. I have to say, my boy, I am very happy to have everything cleared up. You provided the mandrake solution to Poppy?"

Severus nodded. "Yes I made it this morning. Those who were petrified will be back to normal by dinner."

"Wonderful!" Dumbledore said joyfully. "And did you relay my message to Professor Lockhart?"

Severus smile slowly. Early that morning when Harry was still asleep, he had gotten the privilege of informing Lockhart that they knew where the chamber was and he could finally deal with the monster. Lockhart had been saying to anyone who would listen that if only he knew where the creature was he could take destroy it easily.

"He said he would take care of it. I assume he has already given his resignation and fled the castle?" Severus said with satisfaction.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes he has. Oh well. I actually have already hired a new Defense Professor for next year. He should be here soon to sign the papers."

Severus sighed. "Who would this person be? Please tell me this one at least knows something about Defense?"

"Oh he does my boy!" Dumbledore said jovially. "I believe he will make a fine addition to the staff. In fact, he used to be a student here. He was in your year actually."

Severus looked curious. "Oh? And who would that be?"

Dumbledore didn't answer him right away. "That reminds me that I need to ask you a favor. This person needs a special potion brewed for him. He must take Wolfsbane Potion for a week preceding the full moon."

Severus shot up and scowled at the Headmaster. "You didn't! You hired that bloody werewolf? Have you lost every bit of sense you may have possessed? Lupin cannot teach here!"

Dumbledore sighed. "Now Severus. He is qualified to teach Defense and is a good man. He has had a hard life and your potion will be of great help to him."

"I can't tell you how much that warms my heart!" Severus said sarcastically.

"You settled your difference with James." Dumbledore pointed out. "Why can't you do the same with Remus?"

"Potter apologized for his behavior towards me in school." Severus said stiffly. "He was really just a follower taking Black's lead in being a bully. And Lupin, though he did not participate exactly, just stood there and did nothing."

"Perhaps he just needs a chance to apologize." Dumbledore said quietly. "He has a hard time keeping employment due to his…infliction. He also has lost his best friends. He is quite anxious to meet Harry."

"I would assume he knows the truth about Harry? Or does he not read the newspaper and just simply chases it?" Severus sat back down, his eyes narrowed.

"Comments like that are not needed." Dumbledore reproached. "Yes he knows the truth. He remembers Harry as a baby and he was friends with Lily as well. Give him a chance Severus."

Severus scowled. He did not care if he was being childish, he did not want that wolf near his son. "Fine. I'll make the potion but that blasted wolf better be responsible in taking it or else."

"I will be Severus."

Severus and Dumbledore turned around to face the doorway.

"I'm sorry, the door was open." Remus Lupin apologized as he stepped into the office. "Hello Headmaster. It is good to see you again. You as well Severus."

"Welcome Remus." Dumbledore smiled. "I'm so happy you have accepted this job. It will be wonderful to have you back at Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts has always been like home." Remus admitted a smile gracing his scarred face. He shot Severus a nervous smile. "I saw Harry with his friends outside. He sure has grown. And I can see he is a perfect blend of you and Lily."

"Yes, he is." Severus said as he crossed his arms. "You do truly accept that Harry is my son and not Potter's, I would hope."

Remus nodded. "Of course Severus. I was surprised, I will admit. I remember how James and Lily doted on him…" He trailed off, looking sad. He shook his head a little. "I do look forward to teaching him next term."

Severus looked away at the mention of Lily. Suddenly an owl flew in and dropped a letter on Dumbledore's desk and then flew right back out.

Dumbledore looked surprised and opened the letter. His face darkened and his eyes lost their usual twinkle.

"What is wrong?" Severus asked in concern. He wondered if Lucius was trying to get him suspended again.

"I have grave news." Dumbledore announced. He shook his head. "To think I thought we could all finally relax."

"What is it?" Remus asked worriedly.

Dumbledore gazed at both of them for a minute. "Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban."

"What?" Severus yelped. "How is that possible?"

"Azkaban has never had an escape before." Remus added. "What happened?"

"I don't know. The guards found his cell empty early today. Apparently," Dumbledore hesitated. "Severus, before today he was heard repeating, he's at Hogwarts."

Severus's eyes widened. Harry! "He's after Harry." He whispered. His face turned menacing. "I'll kill him before he gets near my son!" He hissed.

"Precautions will be taken before school starts up again." Dumbledore assured Severus. "We will all look out for Harry. Hopefully Sirius will be found before Harry's third year starts."

"How could he have possible gotten out?" Severus wondered out loud.

Remus opened his mouth but then shut it and bit his lip. Severus and Dumbledore didn't notice.

"And why would he escape now?" Dumbledore added in a thoughtful voice.

**HPHPHPHP**

Did you see the paper regarding the whole chamber incident? Our pictures were in it!" Ron said excitedly as they made their way to the Great Hall for dinner. "My whole family included, even Scabbers as I had him on my shoulder! We're famous!"

"Yes Ron. I bet students will want autographs…of Scabbers." Harry snickered. He avoided Ron's punch. "Just kidding mate."

Ron scowled. "Anyway, it's still cool. And Dad entered a contest at work and if he wins, we get a trip to Egypt!"

"Now that would be fascinating!" Hermione exclaimed. "You could learn so much by going there!"

Harry laughed as they sat down at their table. "Ron does thrive on knowledge."

Ron ignored him as he was busy filling his plate with food. He did throw a roll at Harry which Harry happily added to his plate.

The Great Hall doors opened and the Colin Creevey and Justin Finch-Fletchley entered, with nearly headless Nick floating behind him. Mr. Filch also entered, his face beaming and Mrs. Norris in his arms.

"They're all okay!" Hermione squealed happily as students began clapping.

"Welcome back Colin!" Harry greeted as Colin joined them at the table.

"Thanks Harry!" Colin took a picture of him nearly blinding them all.

"Blimey Colin!" Ron grumbled through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Attention everyone!" Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "I do not mean to interrupt your meal but I would just like to welcome back those who had been petrified as well as thank Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape for making the potion to restore them!" He waited until the applause quieted down. "I would also like to thank Professor Snape and Harry Snape for their brave actions in the Chamber of Secrets. I award two hundred points to each of them!"

"I didn't know Professor's could win house points." Ron remarked.

"I doubt they usually do. This is probably a special circumstance." Hermione said as she joined in the clapping.

"I also award fifty points to Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger each for their assistance and research that helped lead to the destruction of the Basilisk!" Dumbledore continued.

"That puts us in the lead!" Hermione whispered as she blushed when everyone began clapping again.

"Therefore, the winner of this year's House Cup is…Gryffindor!"

Gryffindor burst into cheers and Harry was grinning widely. He looked towards his Dad who gave him a smile and wave. Harry's grin faded a bit as he noticed his dad looked a little pale and his expression seemed worried despite his smile.

"What's wrong Harry? We won!" Ron exclaimed, enjoying the attention.

Harry shook his head. "Nothing. My Dad looks a bit worried is all."

"Why would he be worried?" Hermione asked. "Everything is fine now."

Harry nodded and relaxed, joining in the celebration. Everything was fine now right? What else could go wrong?

**The End**

**A/N: I am planning on doing Harry's third year. I'm already writing an outline for it. Is there anything you especially want to see happen in the next story? Should Draco stay the mean kid or become Harry's friend? Should Lucius change sides and become the spy or stay evil? How do you think Sirius should react to Harry being a Snape? Thoughts are appreciated and I'll see you soon in the third story! =)**


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